Alonzo Mourning Official Fan Website | Alonzo Mourning Photos | Alonzo mourning Videos

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Who's in your five: Most memorable sports brawls

2008-08-02T15:56:00.000+03:00

The skirmish between the Los Angeles Sparks and Detroit Shock brings to mind other throw-downs in sports. Here are five of the most memorable. Some are humorous and some decidedly not.

Blogmarichalroseboro 1. Juan Marichal and John Roseboro: During a game in 1965, Marichal, a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants thought Roseboro, the Los Angeles Dodgers catcher, threw too close to his ear when he was returning a pitch to the mound. He turned and hit the catcher in the head with his bat. A 15-minute brawl ensued and ended when the Giants Willie Mays escorted Roseboro to safety. It remains one of the ugliest episodes in Major League history. Marichal was suspended for eight games. Roseboro sued Marichal but later the two would become close. (Photo by Charles Doherty, AP)

2. Minnesota-Ohio State basketball: For this 1972 incident to be called one of the worst incidents in sports history would not be hyperbole. When it was over, the Minnesota program would have a black eye as three Ohio State players were taken to the hospital. With less than a minute left in the game, Ohio State's Luke Witte was fouled and knocked to the floor. Corky Taylor of Minnesota feigned like he was going to help Witte up and then kneed him in the groin. Ron Behagan of the Gophers would come off the bench and kick Witte in the head. Before it was over, fans and players, including Hall of Fame baseball player Dave Winfield, would beat up other Buckeyes. Here is some video.

Blogmourningvangundy 3. Alonzo Mourning and Jeff Van Gundy: This was one was strictly for laughs. In 1998, Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat and Larry Johnson of the New York Knicks began doing the macho dance. Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy tried to break it up. What he did was grab Mourning's leg and the 6-foot-10 Mourning waved the 5-foot-6 coach around like a rag doll. Said Van Gundy: "''He's always whining about the contact he takes. But you never hear about the contact he dishes out. If you're going to bang and bump, bang and bump like a man and quit whining about it.'' (Photo by Mark Lennihan, AP)

4. Miami-Florida International: It would start in pregame warmups and break out into a full scale brawl by the third quarter. By the next day, 31 college football players would be suspended for their role in the dust up in this 2006 game. There would be punches thrown as well as blind-side kicks and helmet swinging. The two schools, less than 10 miles apart, were meeting for the first time. Miami won the game 35-0. Here is the video.

5. Don Zimmer-Pedro Martinez: During a playoff game in 2003 between the Yankees and Red Sox there would be hit batters and brush back pitches. That led to the benches being cleared twice for fights. That would have been routine in baseball except for the 72-year-old Zimmer charging the mound and being wrestled to the ground by Martinez. Neither was hurt and it become comic fodder.

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Mourning Has More Work On Injured Knee

2008-07-18T13:31:00.000+03:00

Alonzo Mourning recently had some more work done on his injured right knee to keep the possibilty of a comeback alive, according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Mourning ruptured the patella tendon in his right knee and also tore the quadriceps tendon in the same leg in December and claims that he still hopes to return to the court.

He will undergo another six months of rehabilitation after the most recent procedure to help rectify the injury.

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ZSG Comedy + Party

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I was fortunate enough to be VIP and was able to hang out with the likes of Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Kevin Durant, Nate Robinson, Deaquan Cook, Earl Barron, Dorrel Wright, Penny Hardway, and Damon Jones

-- Michael Beasley is a really cool guy loving the fame right now. Stopped for pictures and autos for everyone, was obsessed with my new iPhone and even went into his pocket and said how much. Said he was going to camp out to get one, asked him why he didnt just make some calls jokingly said hes not Derrick Rose. Left the club with a cutie was decently drunk really cool guy though

--Mario Chalmers is amazingly nice and very humble, no one else knew who he was and he kind of clinged onto me for the night he was awesome. Great guy he and Beasley came together

--Cook was an ass. Very arrogant.. Asked about his shoulder shrugged me off.

--Earl Barron doesn't think hell be back here-- cool guy though

--Dorrel Wright hopes to come back but when I jokingly said I'll call Riles for you he said "TELL HIM TO DO ME RIGHT"

--Shawn Marion looks very part of this team hanging with Zo and Wade all night. Doesn't look like we are moving him. Wasn't able to chat with him but got a pic w him

--Penny said that Riles told him he let him go way too early, and that he's still in shape to go anytime LOL

--Kevin Durant wasn't very personable but nice enough guy

--Nate Robinson was funny and pretty cool guy. Heard him joking with all the players that its good to be short so no one notices him, a photographer asked his name he gave them a fake name like George Lopez

--Damon Jones said he would LOVE to come back here. He was with Terrel Owens all night who is a complete prick

--James Jones was really cool saw him before any of the events at the Pretzel stand paid with a $20 for a pretzel and told the employee to keep the change. Says he's excited to be back.

--Sam Cassel has the dirtiest mouth ever.

--Wade ran by everyone was with tons of security not w. wife. Gabrielle Union was also in attendance but didn't catch them together. Comedian was asking Wade if he likes to eat pussy.

--ZO was ZO

--Andy Ellisberg was in attendance and even made it up to the club after, with a few of the scouts I believe. He's a really cool guy says that they are do everything and anything to bring this team back to the winning side of things. Was really nice was shocked that I knew his name.

-- Does anyone know where Udonis was?

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Alonzo Yaralanan Dizi İle Daha Çok İlgileniyor

2008-07-18T13:26:00.000+03:00

Miami Heat'in efsane pivotu olan ve geçen sezonun ortasında dizinden sakatlık geçirip sezonu kapatan ZO,sakat olan sağ dizi ile daha çok ilgilenip,onla daha çok çalışıyor.

ZO'nun,sakat dizine daha çok özen göstermesi,ZO'nun basketbola dönmek istediğini işaret ediyor.

Bildiğiniz gibi AlonZo Mourning de her fırsatta bir sezon daha oynamak istediğini belirtiyor.

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Blokların efendisi geri dönebilecek mi?

2008-07-18T13:24:00.000+03:00

2007-08 sezonu geçirdiği diz sakatlığı sebebiyle kısa kesilen NBA'in efsanevi oyuncularından Alonzo Mourning'in, sağ dizine uygulanması gereken prosedürler yüzünden yeni sezonun ortalarına kadar parkeye dönemeyeceği için tecrübeli pivotun takımsız kalma riskiyle karşı karşıya kaldığı belirtiliyor.

Güney Florida Sun-Sentinel'de çıkan haberlere göre Mourning'in rehabilitasyonuna yakın kaynakların, 38 yaşındaki oyuncunun sağ dizinde geçirdiği sakatlığın tedavi sürecinin sezonun ortasına kadar sürebileceğini söylediği belirtiliyor.

Şu anda Miami Heat kadrosunda bulunan ancak kontratı tamamlanan Mourning'in diz sakatlığının ne kadar süreceği ya da oyuncunun emekliliğine yol açabileceği ihtimali yüzünden hiçbir takımın Mourning ile sözleşme imzalamaya yanaşmaması bekleniyor.

2006 yılında şampiyonluğa ulaşan Miami Heat'de benchten gelerek kritik katkılar yapan ve savunmaya getirdiği dinamizm ile taraftarların sevgilisi olan "Zo", yaptığı bloklar ile çemberi zorlayan oyuncuların adeta korkulu rüyası olmuştu.

2007-08 sezonuna Heat tarihinin en çok hücum ribaundu alan oyuncusu olmak için 4 ribaunda daha ihtiyacı varken giren Blokların efendisi 8 farklı sezonda Miami'nin en fazla blok yapan oyuncusu olmuştu. 2134 blok ile 2006-07 sezonunu aktif oyuncular arasında normal sezonda en çok blok yapan 3. oyuncu olarak kapattı.

Alonzo Mourning, kariyerinde 7 kez All-Star olmuş, 2 kez de NBA'de yılın defansif oyuncusu seçilmiş ve 1 kez de NBA'in en değerli ilk 5'ine seçilme başarısı göstermiş çok değerli bir oyuncudur.

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Board of Directors & Staff

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Alonzo Mourning
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS

Tracy Wilson Mourning, Founder of the Honey Shine Mentoring Program
PRESIDENT

Williams Diggs, President of Miami Dade Chamber of Commerce
VICE PRESIDENT

Allen Furst, President of ASF Consulting, LTD
TREASURER

...
MEMBERS

Linda Coll, Director of Carnival Cruise Lines Foundation

Albert Dotson, Jr. Esquire, Bilzin, Sumberg, Beane, Price & Axelrod

Gene Schaefer, Commercial Market Executive, Bank of America

...
STAFF

Lisa Joseph | DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR | PH: (305) 476-0095/102

Grace M. Castro | PR & MARKETING DIRECTOR | PH: (305) 476-0095/114

Gillian Durruthy | PR & MARKETING COORDINATOR | PH: (305) 476-0095/131
Nile Patrick | ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT | PH: (305) 476-0095/111

...
HONEY SHINE
MENTORING PROGRAM

Andrea Graham | PROGRAM MANAGER | PH: (305) 476-0095/106

LaCriscia M. Fowlkes | PROGRAM ASSISTANT | PH: (305) 476-0095/126

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A LOOK BACK

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Over the past 11 years, Alonzo Mourning Charities (AM Charities) has reached several milestones. Many of these highlights are a direct result of the support and interest of countless individuals and corporate groups who also wish to make a difference in our community.

With much success, AM Charities has been able to add to the number of annual events that fund new and existing initiatives that benefit our youth of promise. For more information on how you can help, please visit www.amcharities.org

1997

o Modeled after Magic Johnson’s fundraising event “A Midsummer Night’s Magic”, Mourning hosted the 1st annual ZO’S SUMMER GROOVE (ZSG) raising more than $200,000 for local charities in South Florida. Now in its 11th year, ZSG has grown into a five-day, fun-filled community event that has become a staple in the South Florida community. ZSG, AM Charities’ largest fundraising event, appeals to a diverse audience by offering a variety of events that include: youth basketball clinics, golf tournament, concert, comedy show, gala, block party, all-star basketball game and numerous after-party functions. ZSG works to promote community involvement by encouraging event participants to enjoy a weekend that ultimately benefits South Florida’s youth of promise.

2000

o Mourning takes the Groove on the road to Hampton Roads, Virginia. Currently known as ZO’S END OF SUMMER GROOVE, this annual event offers Mourning’s hometown supporters the opportunity to get involved. This three-day event includes a golf tournament, youth summit, and a family day in the park. Proceeds benefit local organizations in the Hampton Road areas.

o In efforts to give Thanksgiving a special meaning for families in need, Mourning personally delivers complete meals door-to-door to unsuspecting families in South Florida. Now in 2007, with the support of sponsors, 33 THANKSGIVING has increased the number of meals delivered from 33 to 533.

2002

o Founded by Tracy Wilson Mourning, the HONEY SHINE MENTORING PROGRAM, provides positive experiences that nurture the mind, body and soul of young women ages 8 to 18, in at-risk situations, by enlightening their paths and creating balance in their young lives. The program currently offers services to local South Florida teens.

2003

o ALONZO MOURNING CHARITIES becomes incorporated as a public not-for-profit organization.

o With the help of donors, Alonzo Mourning Charities opened the first center in the historic area of Overtown in South Florida. The OVERTOWN YOUTH CENTER provides services to more than 225 kids. The center’s mission is to inspire and empower youth and families by fostering hope through enrichment services.

o The annual HAT’S OFF LUNCHEON helps keep the Honey Shine Mentoring Program in operation year-round. Also, thanks to the success and popularity of this event, Camp Honey Shine was able to open its doors for a full three weeks in 2007.

o ZO’S MILLION DOLLAR SHOOTOUT offers guest an exclusive golfing experience at the world renowned Trump National Golf Course. Alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Donald Trump, Mourning has been able to also make an impact on youth organizations in the New Jersey and New York area.

2005

o Alonzo Mourning Charities joins forces with the Magic Johnson Foundation to host ZO & MAGIC’S 8-BALL CHALLENGE. Guests are invited to compete in the only true showdown-taking place during NBA All-Star Weekend. Proceeds benefit programs and services supported by both foundations.

2006

o The KING PIN CLASSIC is another favorite event for Alonzo Mourning Charities supporters. Both Tracy and Alonzo Mourning score the perfect strike raising more than $100,000 annually, during King Pin Classic, for the Honey Shine Mentoring Program.

2007

o Alonzo Mourning Charities unveils plan to build a second youth center in South Florida.

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PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES

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HONEY SHINE MENTORING PROGRAM

Founded by Tracy Wilson Mourning in 2002, Honey Shine's mission is to develop and nurture the mind, body and soul of young women by providing experiences that enlighten and create balance in their lives. For more information visit www.honeyshine.org

YOUTH SUMMITS

Kids are often faced with challenging situations and decisions. Covering a gamut of topics, our youth summits allow us to open the lines of communication to discuss the real issues that are important at this stage of their life. Participating kids converse with celebrities, athletes, and prominent leaders in the community to find solutions and gain a positive perspective on life.

YOUTH BASKETBALL CLINICS

More than 2000 kids each year learn key basketball fundamentals from top athletes from around the league. Youth participants take part in numerous interactive activities that include numerous drills, helpful hints, workout tips, motivational sessions that include a broad-spectrum of messages about discipline, sportsmanship, persistence, teamwork that can apply to all aspects of life.

33 THANKSGIVINGS

In efforts to give Thanksgiving a special meaning for many in need, Mourning personally delivers complete meals door-to-door to unsuspecting families in the South Florida area. With the support of sponsors, AM Charities has increased the number of meals delivered each year from 33 to 533.

YOUTH CENTERS

Alonzo Mourning Charities has also focused its attention to stimulating the development of youth centers. Each new centers will co-locate academic and recreational activities in a safe environment, working with children, families, and schools from grade 2 to graduation. The centers will offer in-school, after-school, weekend, and summer programs that include academic enhancement, physical fitness, health care and nutrition, creative arts, prevention, character-building, and family-oriented activities, including parent orientation.

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS THAT AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH

Since 1997, Alonzo Mourning Charities has granted funds to a variety of organizations that work to solve today’s most challenging children’s issues- foster care, adoption, emergency shelters, mentoring programs, after-school programs among many others.

HOLIDAY PARTY

Each year, 350 kids, selected from partner organizations, are invited to a special holiday party hosted by Tracy and Alonzo Mourning. To help preserve holiday traditions, festivities include a talent show, cookie decorating, face painting, great music and dancing, a delicious dinner with all the fixings and a special gift for each child.

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AM Charities OVERVIEW

2008-07-06T04:11:00.002+03:00

Alonzo Mourning Charities (AM Charities) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public fundraising foundation. AM Charities' mission is to encourage the educational development of our youth by creating programs and youth enrichment centers that promote positive change in low socioeconomic communities.

Since 1997, AM Charities has raised more than $6.5 million for various programs that aid in the development of children and their families. In addition to supporting other non-profit organizations, Mourning has focused his attention to stimulating the development of youth enrichment centers. With the help of donors, Mourning opened the first center in 2003 in the historic area of Overtown, in South Florida, known as the Overtown Youth Center.

A major component of AM Charities is the Honey Shine Mentoring Program that works to empower young girls to shine as women. The bi-weekly workshops and summer camp that make up the program helps develop and nurture the mind, body, and soul, of young women by providing experiences that enlighten and create balance in their lives.

With your participation, Alonzo Mourning Charities can continue to make great strides towards helping to change lives. For more information visit www.amcharities.org.

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Alonzo Mourning Charities

2008-07-06T04:11:00.001+03:00

Alonzo Mourning Charities’ Statement in Response to Lawsuit by Wynn Las Vegas, LLC

MIAMI, Florida (July 1, 2008) — Alonzo Mourning Charities, today issued the following statement in response to a lawsuit filed by Wynn Las Vegas, LLC:

"Alonzo Mourning Charities (AM Charities) understands that the outstanding obligations identified in the lawsuit have been satisfied and that AM Charities will be released of any and all association with the lawsuit. We are pleased that this matter has been resolved. AM Charities is committed, and will continue, to focus on inspiring, empowering and enriching the lives of the youth in our communities.”

Alonzo Mourning Charities (AM Charities) is a not-for-profit 501©(3) public fundraising foundation. Its mission is to encourage the educational development of youth by creating programs and youth enrichment centers that promote positive change in low socioeconomic communities. Since 1997, AM Charities has raised more than $6.5 million for various programs that aid in the development of children and their families. In addition to supporting numerous educational initiatives, Mourning focuses his attention to stimulating the development of youth enrichment centers. With the help of donors, Mourning opened the first center in 2003 in the historic area of Overtown, in South Florida, known as the Overtown Youth Center. For more information, visit www.AMCharities.org.

###

Media Contact:
Michelle Revuelta
305.221.1773
michelle@mrprinc.com

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ABOUT ALONZO MOURNING

2008-07-06T04:07:00.000+03:00

Alonzo Mourning is founder of Alonzo Mourning Charities (AM Charities), a not-for-profit 501©(3) public fundraising foundation, created to encourage the educational development of youth by developing programs and youth enrichment centers that promote positive change in low socioeconomic communities. Since 1997, Mourning has raised more than $6.5 million for various programs that aid in the development of children and their families. In addition to supporting numerous educational initiatives, Mourning focuses his attention to stimulating the development of youth enrichment centers. With the help of donors, Mourning opened the first center in 2003 in the historic area of Overtown, in South Florida, known as the Overtown Youth Center with plans that call for more centers to open in the future.

Major initiatives led by Mourning include more than seven annual events held throughout the country such as Zo’s Summer Groove, as well as the Honey Shine Mentoring Program that works to empower young girls to shine as women. Mourning is an advocate for youth initiatives and foster care programs that assist abused, abandoned and neglected kids. He is a sought-after speaker engaging audiences of all sizes and ages on the importance of education, leadership and perseverance.

Mourning is consistently recognized for his charitable efforts receiving numerous awards such as the NBA’s Community Assist Award in 2006; National Urban League’s Outstanding Community Service Award in 2003; Silver Medallion Community Service Award by the National Conference for Community and Justine in 2003; NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Sportsmanship Award in 2002; and The Children’s Trust Excellence Award for Public Policy in 2007, to name a few.

Mourning was drafted as the number two pick, of the first round, by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1992 National Basketball Association’s (NBA) draft. After three successful years with the Hornets, Mourning moved on in 1995 to spend seven years with the Miami Heat leading the team to several Eastern division titles. Impressing others with the vigor and tenacity that he has put into being a defensive weapon for his team and an offensive nightmare for his opponents, Alonzo was selected to join an elite group of NBA players who represented the United States in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Diagnosed with Focal Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a degenerative kidney ailment, at the start of the 2000-2001 season, Mourning led a campaign to fight FSGS and raised $2 million for research, education, and testing. He returned to the court after undergoing a kidney transplant in that same season and played in the remaining 13 games with the Miami Heat. In 2003 Mourning joined the New Jersey Nets but returned to Miami, a place he calls home, and rejoined the Miami Heat in 2005 where he was an integral part in leading the team to their first NBA Championship in the 2005-06 season. Mourning is a seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year (1999 and 2000). He is currently among the league’s leaders in blocked shots, field goal percentages and rebounds per game.

Mourning is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds a degree in Sociology. He and his wife, Tracy Wilson Mourning, reside in Miami, Florida with their two children – son Trey and daughter Myka.

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 22

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Team USA: big names, big questions

2008-06-25T01:07:00.000+03:00

So the question is this: Can this Team USA beat Argentina? Or Puerto Rico? Or Lithuania?

All spanked the United States in men's basketball at the 2004 Olympics in Athens (the U.S. did defeat Lithuania for the bronze medal).

Four years later, the U.S. team has the NBA's two biggest names, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, but the supporting cast, though talented, raises questions.

After Bryant and James, Team USA, announced yesterday, features Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Orlando's Dwight Howard and Dallas' Jason Kidd, a veteran of international

Miami's Dwyane Wade is coming back from his knee injury and is supposed to be 100 percent. Assuming that's so, he's the first guy off the bench.

On the point guard end of this are two of the NBA's rising stars, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. You might think that Paul would have been the starter, but, although his shoulders were figuratively broad enough to carry the New Orleans Hornets this year, he might not be literally big and strong enough to handle the physical guards he'll see in international play

Krzyzewski's roster features forwards Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh, and guard Michael Redd.

So you might wonder, as did the little old lady in the hamburger commercial: Where's the beef?

Well, there's a little.

Boozer, at 266 pounds, can definitely bang and has international experience as a member of the 2004 bronze-medal team. Bosh comes in at 6 feet 10, 230 pounds and has been compared to Boston's Kevin Garnett.

But even in the starting lineup, as good a player as Howard is and can be, missing on this roster is the dominant big man like David Robinson or Patrick Ewing, the centers on the original Dream Team. Nor does this 2008 squad have a one-two punch like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal, as was the case in 1996. And the American gold-medal team in 2000 had Alonzo Mourning and Garnett.

So, in Beijing it will be in the hands of the shooters and the slashers, the multi-threat Kobe and LeBron.

It remains to be seen whether that's enough.

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 15

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NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning to Host Educational Youth Basketball Clinic in Harlem

2008-06-17T15:09:00.000+03:00

NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning to Host Educational Youth Basketball Clinic in Harlem

Mourning, Shape Up New York(TM) and the American Association of Kidney Patients Team Up to Shed Light on Chronic Kidney Disease in New York City NEW YORK, June 10

NEW YORK, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Alonzo Mourning, center for the Miami
HEAT, will host an educational basketball clinic for local youth in Harlem
today. During the clinic, Mourning, who was diagnosed with chronic kidney
disease (CKD) in 2000, will share his personal story to raise awareness of CKD
and two common risk factors, diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as
highlight the importance of preventing these diseases.

Approximately 20 million Americans suffer from CKD -- including an
estimated 650,000 New York City residents -- and another estimated 20 million
are at risk. The basketball clinic, hosted by Shape Up New York and sponsored
by the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) and Ortho Biotech
Products, L.P., aims to increase awareness about these health problems and
encourage individuals who may be at risk to speak with their doctors.

The clinic will take place at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center,
located at 85 Bradhurst Avenue & 146th Street in East Harlem, at 6 p.m. EDT.

Nearly 20 percent of the adult population in East Harlem and the South
Bronx has diabetes, a risk factor for CKD, according to a report by the City
University of New York and the Public Health Association of New York City.
The report also noted that African Americans with diabetes are more than twice
as likely to develop CKD than individuals of other ethnic backgrounds with the
disease. In addition, African Americans have a higher incidence of high blood
pressure compared to other ethnic groups, which, if left untreated, can also
cause CKD.

"Chronic kidney disease can occur at any age, and I want to encourage
those who may be at risk to get tested and treated," said Mourning. "It is
important for people to understand the risk factors for the disease and to
talk to their doctors. Had I been aware of the disease, I might have been
diagnosed earlier and prevented my condition from worsening."

The most common risk factors of CKD are diabetes, high blood pressure and
a family history of kidney disease. In New York City, approximately 800,000
adults have diabetes, while an estimated 2 million adults have high blood
pressure.

"The American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Kidney
Patients and the National Kidney Foundation all emphasize the importance of
screening for CKD in patients with diabetes or high blood pressure," said
Simon Prince, MD, FACP, FASN, and a nephrologist in the New York City area.
"We encourage children and their parents to attend the clinic together, listen
to Alonzo's story and learn more about CKD and its risk factors. Early
recognition and intervention are crucial to improving health outcomes."

Mourning was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2000, and had a kidney
transplant in 2003. Since then, he has made a triumphant return to the NBA,
and has dedicated much of his life to helping others with kidney disease. In
addition to Mourning, AAKP President, Roberta Wager, RN, MSN, will be
available to discuss some of the resources available to patients who have CKD.

About Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease is a progressive condition in which the kidneys are
unable to function effectively. Many people, including Mourning before his
diagnosis, do not realize that they have CKD, or are at risk for developing
it, until they have reached the advanced stages of the condition. The
incidence of CKD appears to be correlated to diabetes and high blood pressure.
Diabetes is the leading cause of CKD in the U.S.

About Shape Up New York(TM)

Shape Up New York is a FREE family fitness program offered at parks sites,
community centers and housing sites around New York City. Fitness classes are
open to adults and children. Classes include step aerobics, fitness walking,
light weights, stretching and toning exercises. Shape Up New York is designed
to encourage the development of healthy lifestyles and help improve
participant self-esteem through energizing physical activity in a
non-competitive environment. The program is sponsored jointly by the City's
Health and Parks Departments.

About the American Association of Kidney Patients

The American Association of Kidney Patients is the voluntary, patient
organization, which for more than 35 years, has been dedicated to improving
the lives of fellow kidney patients and their families by helping them deal
with the physical, emotional and social impact of kidney disease. The
programs offered by AAKP inform and inspire patients and their families to
better understand their condition, adjust more readily to their circumstances,
and assume more normal, productive lives in their communities.

About Ortho Biotech Products, L.P.

Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. is a leading biopharmaceutical company
devoted to helping improve the lives of patients with cancer and with anemia
due to multiple causes, including chronic kidney disease. Since it was
founded in 1990, Ortho Biotech and its worldwide affiliates have earned a
global reputation for researching, manufacturing and marketing innovative
products that enhance patients' health. Located in Bridgewater, N.J., Ortho
Biotech is an established market leader in Epoetin alfa therapy for anemia
management. The company also markets treatments for recurrent ovarian cancer,
rejection of transplanted organs and other serious illnesses. For more
information, visit www.orthobiotech.com.

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning, AAKP, Shape Up New York shed light on kidney disease

2008-06-17T15:06:00.000+03:00

NBA all-star Alonzo Mourning, the American Association of Kidney Patients, and Shape Up New York held a youth basketball clinic and kidney disease education program. The event, held Tuesday, June 10, at the Jackie Robinson Community Center in East Harlem, N.Y., drew local youths and their families. Mourning, who received a kidney transplant in 2003 after being diagnosed with kidney disease, shared his own story about his diagnosis and how he received a kidney transplant from a cousin.

Mourning and AAKP President Roberta Wager, RN, MSN, spoke to the crowd about the importance of getting tested for the kidney disease. A report by the City University of New York and the Public Health Association of New York City shows nearly 20% of the adult population in East Harlem and the South Bronx has diabetes.

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning Photos 13

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 12

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 11

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Mourning may not be done yet

2008-06-04T04:23:00.001+03:00

Alonzo Mourning, who suffered a season-ending knee injury this season, is talking about playing again next year.
"I want to come back and play another year," Mourning said Monday. "I just want to get my body right to do it. I need to get my body where my mind is." Even if he does make an unlikely comeback, he will have no fantasy value

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning wants to keep playing for Heat

2008-06-04T04:22:00.000+03:00

Miami Heat reserve centre Alonzo Mourning — once the property of the Toronto Raptors — isn't ready to call it a career after all.

Mourning, who retired Jan. 14, admitted Monday that he wants to play one more season.

"I want to come back and play another year," Mourning said. "I just want to get my body right to do it."

Mourning, 38, has not played since tearing his right quadriceps and a patella tendon in his right knee trying to block a shot during the first quarter of the Heat's protested 117-111 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks last Dec. 19.

Prior to being hurt, he averaged 5.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocked shots and 16.0 minutes in 24 games.

Mourning is the franchise leader in games played (568), points (9,310), rebounds (4,714), blocked shots (1,583) and minutes played (17,311).

But his contract with Miami expires June 30.

"I need to get my body where my mind is," Mourning said. "I still, in my mind, feel I can contribute."

Had a kidney transplant

Mourning made headlines at the start of the 2000-01 NBA season when he was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) — a degenerative kidney ailment.

He had a kidney transplant on Dec. 19, 2003, receiving a kidney from his cousin, Jason Cooper, and later returned to the NBA.

The seven-time all-star has averaged 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocked shots, 1.1 assists and 31.0 minutes in 837 games (686 starts) over 15 NBA seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets and Heat.

Mourning was acquired by Toronto from New Jersey along with Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two first-round draft picks for Vince Carter on Dec. 17, 2004.

But he refused to report to the Raptors, and later negotiated a buyout on the more than $17 million US he was owned on a four-year, $22.6-million US contract he signed with the Nets on July 16, 2003.

Mourning was drafted second overall out of Georgetown by the Hornets in 1992, and was chosen NBA defensive player of the year in 1999 and 2000.

kaynak : NBA

Mourning leaning toward return to Heat

2008-06-04T04:21:00.000+03:00

Alonzo Mourning is pushing toward a comeback with the Miami Heat next season, according to a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Monday.

The 37-year-old Mourning, who entered his 15th NBA season by saying it would be his last, saw it cut short when he tore the patella tendon and quadriceps tendon in his right knee on December 19.

The newspaper reported that Mourning spoke at Jason Taylor's charity golf tournament and seemed set on returning to the NBA.

"There's no mystery," Mourning told the newspaper. "I've said I want to come back and play another year. I just want to get my body right to do it. I need to get my body where my mind is."

The veteran center told the Sun-Sentinel it all depends on how his body reacts to the rehabilitation.

"(I am) enjoying the time off, resting my body, going to get my body ready for another year, possibly," said Mourning, who would return to Miami, which has the No. 2 overall pick in this month's draft. "Time is pretty much going to dictate that."

Mourning suffered the tear in his knee as he raced down the court and planted beneath the rim to block a shot in the first quarter of the Heat's 117-111 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Since being drafted second overall by Charlotte out of Georgetown in 1992, Mourning played in 837 games for the Hornets, Miami and New Jersey. He began his second spell with the Heat in 2004.

Mourning owns career averages of 17.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The seven-time All-Star won one championship with Miami in 2006.

A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning defeated the odds just by stepping on the court in recent years. He was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease in 2003 and returned for the 2004-05 season after a transplant.

kaynak : NBA

Veteran Center Mourning Hints At Returning To NBA

2008-06-04T04:20:00.000+03:00

Alonzo Mourning on Monday hinted of a return to the NBA next season, after being limited to just 25 games this year due to leg and knee injuries.

The veteran center is raring to play again and complete the season without any injuries, saying it would all depend on his body's conditioning. He added he would like to play for one more year before he wraps up his NBA career which started in 1992.

The Heat still owns Mourning's contract until the end of the month and it remains unclear if the shot-blocking center is open to the idea of playing elsewhere.

He has played for Miami the last four seasons, including the 2006-07 campaign where he posted 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while starting for then-injured Heat center Shaquille O'Neal.

The 38-year-old Mourning has career averages of 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks a game.

kaynak : NBA

Miami Heat testing the waters with No. 2 pick

2008-05-30T04:39:00.002+03:00

While the NBA playoffs march on with the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons all gunning for the championship, the business of developing the next champion -- or the chance to at least compete for the title -- goes on behind the scenes at the league's predraft camp in Orlando, where about 60 players are trying to improve their draft status.

Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis is almost certainly going to be selected No. 1 by the Chicago Bulls, which leaves Kansas State's Michael Beasley at No. 2 for the Miami Heat.

Well, not so fast, is the buzz coming out of Florida this week.

"I'm not sure Beasley is a Pat Riley kind of guy," says one team official. "There are starting to be some red flags on him. But he is so talented they may have to draft the talent."

However, according to some personnel types around the league, Miami is beginning to test the waters on the value of the No. 2 pick.

Of course, that's routine. In 1997, the Spurs listened, if only a little bit, when Rick Pitino, as coach and president of the Celtics, offered practically his entire team for the No. 1 pick that would be Tim Duncan.

The thinking is that Riley is concerned about drafting someone as apparently immature as Beasley.

There is a terrific Washington Post story from a year ago making the rounds. It details Beasley's journey to six high schools in five states and quotes him saying he was "just killing time" in high school. Basketball factory Oak Hill didn't ask him back after he averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds during the 2005-2006 season. And he admitted to the newspaper that he wore pajamas to the school cafeteria, threw sticks at teachers' houses, organized late night hide-and-seek games after curfew and signed his name all over campus in graffiti contests.

Beasley's antics were described as mostly playful, but they also crossed over to practices where he'd sometimes mock the coach.

Look, it's mostly kids coming into the NBA. Ask the Bulls about Joakim Noah , who was charged last weekend in Florida with marijuana possession, carrying an open container of alcohol (how else could he drink it?) and various traffic violations. But this is a Pat Riley team, and Miami is a city where most NBA teams try to come in late and leave early so their players don't get in trouble. Now Beasley's going to live there?

Conventional wisdom says the Heat will take Beasley because of his amazing talent. But Riley doesn't do conventional wisdom.

He traded for Shaquille O'Neal when no one thought it possible, and traded away Shaq when no one thought it possible. He was supposed to take a center, Chris Kaman, with the fifth pick in 2003 after losing Alonzo Mourning, but he surprised many by taking Dwyane Wade. The Bulls were among the surprised, as they thought Wade would be there for their No. 7 overall pick.

The Bulls ended up taking Kirk Hinrich, who some personnel executives around the league say could be traded to accommodate Rose. More on that later.

Miami will be feeling teams out, and here's one deal that makes sense.

Riley long has had a flirtation with Elton Brand, whom he tried to sign in 2003. When the Clippers matched the offer, the Heat moved on to Brand's Clippers teammate Lamar Odom. Brand's Riley-initiated contract expires after next season, and many wonder whether Brand will return to the Clippers.

This could be the Clippers' opportunity to get something in return for Brand. It's questionable whether Miami will want to re-sign Shawn Marion, acquired in the Shaq deal, after next season. So perhaps Miami deals the rights to the No. 2 pick and Marion for Brand and the rights to the Clippers' No. 7, which the Heat supposedly would love to use for O.J. Mayo. While it's uncertain Mayo would slip that far, this is one to watch.

The Bulls' situation with Hinrich, say personnel executives throughout the league, also is worth watching. Perhaps as many as eight lottery teams -- the Heat, New York Knicks, Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors -- could use a point guard. Hinrich may not be the classic "one"; thus the Bulls' interest in Rose. But Hinrich is good enough to have been invited to play for Team USA. Consider him a Danny Ainge type, a guard who can do a little bit of everything. He can shoot, defend even the bigger shooting guards and run the offense. He's not at the level of a Chris Paul or Deron Williams, but he has been to the playoffs three of the last four seasons and is too good to sit behind a kid.

If you need a point guard, would you rather take someone like Texas' D.J. Augustin, regarded as the draft's second-best point guard despite being undersized, or trade for Hinrich?

Toronto Raptors point guard T.J. Ford also may be in the trade mix, but he remains a serious medical risk with spinal cord issues. The Raptors are looking to package Ford in a trade along with some of the team's expiring contracts. They intend to re-sign and start Jose Calderon at point.

Other pieces would be required to match salaries, but here's some speculative possibilities for Hinrich:

• Miami for Shawn Marion
• Indiana for Jermaine O'Neal
• Golden State for Al Harrington
• Portland for expiring contracts, like that of Raef LaFrentz, so the Bulls can get into the free-agent market over the next few years for Brand or Wade
• Charlotte for Jason Richardson (he and Gerald Wallace play similar roles); perhaps the Bulls throw in a veteran like Andres Nocioni for new Bobcats coach Larry Brown
• Milwaukee (would Scott Skiles want to coach Hinrich again?) for a contract they want to dump, like Bobby Simmons', with Yi Jianlian thrown in
• New York. Actually, it seems they're saving cap space to make a run at LeBron James in two years.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also are desperate for a point guard, though the talk around the NBA is they want an All Star-type player to pair with James and may be pursuing Jermaine O'Neal.

Only one team will be happy at the end of the season. But this is when optimism abounds for the rest over the possibilities for the future.

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning opts against buying Suffolk eatery

2008-05-30T04:39:00.001+03:00

NBA great Alonzo Mourning has rejected a deal to buy a local diner for his mother, the building’s owner said today.

The property has rebounded, though. A new church, Heaven on Earth Ministries, has leased the site for Sunday services.

City Councilman Charles Parr, the building’s owner, said Mourning, a Chesapeake native, decided against purchasing the former Suffolk Diner after the potential deal was publicized in March.

“He was trying to do it on the Q-T,” Parr said.

Mourning’s mother, Julia Hadnot, who lives in Portsmouth, said the media attention didn’t deter them. She said they were only looking at the building and decided against it. She wants to open a place that caters on-site for banquets and business meetings

“We are still looking at other sites,” Hadnot said.

The Suffolk Diner building, near the northeastern entrance to Suffolk’s downtown, has been open for decades. It has also operated as the Cotton Blossom, Ed’s Place, the Dining Room and Traveller’s Rest. Parr has owned it for the past couple of years.

kaynak : NBA

Paxson's choice, and career death is an option

2008-05-30T04:37:00.000+03:00

Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. That's the choice. This is a two-player draft, which means John Paxson has a 50-50 chance to keep his job.

That's the thing that has been missed in all the talk of the Bulls' lucking into a franchise-saving situation (yes, franchise-saving, given all the anger and ill will engendered by the money-grubbing punks who disgraced the uniform last season).

Paxson was positively giddy during interviews about how he wasn't watching the draft lottery until his sons yelled upstairs that the Bulls were going to do better than the projected ninth overall pick. Indeed, they would do better than anyone imagined. Better than anyone else in the NBA. And now Paxson has to pick the right guy, pick the champion, or he'll pick up his last check.

Do the math: Luck = pressure. This draft, see, will determine the Bulls' next five years, at least. It also will determine whether Paxson gets fired before then, and here's why: The last time the top two picks became NBA champions was the class of '92 when Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning went first and second. Thing is, they didn't win for the teams that drafted them (Orlando and Charlotte, respectively), they won in Miami in 2006 with Mourning backing up Shaq.

In fact, you could go back 40 years and not find another set of Nos. 1 and 2 that has done anything like that without scouring rosters for a failed top pick who took up space as a 12th man on a championship team.

So, Paxson has to get it right or get out, simple as that. You can't draft Beasley and have him turn into the next Derrick Coleman -- a guy with attitude problems who only gets good numbers on bad teams. You can't draft Rose and have him turn into the next Kenny Anderson -- active, fast and couldn't see the floor to run a play if he was locked in the gym by himself all night. That's the kind of scouting and drafting that gets you fired.

Then again, you don't want to take Rose and have Beasley become the next LeBron James, and you don't want to take Beasley and have Rose become another John Stockton (only without the dirty play). That gets you fired, too.

Of course, Paxson also could trade the pick. But the guy who drafted LaMarcus Aldridge and traded him for Tyrus Thomas, and the guy who couldn't trade for Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol is probably not the guy you want dealing something this big. So, Paxson's future is on the clock.

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning Photos 10

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 9

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Catfish to Host Kidney Disease Awareness Night June 20th

2008-05-22T15:30:00.001+03:00

Columbus Catfish
Catfish to Host Kidney Disease Awareness Night June 20th
05/21/08 - South Atlantic League (SAL) Columbus Catfish

• Discuss this story on the South Atlantic League message board...
Columbus, GA - In conjunction with the National Kidney Foundation of Georgia, the Columbus Catfish would like to invite fans to attend the first ever Kidney Disease Awareness Night on June 20th.

The National Kidney Foundation of Georgia will be at the ballpark handing out information and will increase your awareness of Kidney Disease, which affects 1 of every 9 people and has affected people such as Don Sutton, David Eckstein and Alonzo Mourning.

Sometimes to beat kidney disease, all it takes is a change in diet or lifestyle, but once the kidneys fail, it is necessary for dialysis and getting a kidney transplant. Individual transplant centers maintain waiting lists with as many as 500 to 1,500 candidates and the median waiting time nationwide was more than 3 years.

This is a disease that can debilitate you and you need to see if you are at risk. This provides a nice outlet for you to receive information on kidney disease, understand the causes and discover if you are at risk in an environment that is not intimidating, such as a doctor's office.

The game begins at 7:00 p.m. with the Catfish playing the Charleston Riverdogs (Yankees affiliate). The game will also feature a fireworks show, so be sure to call (706) 571-8866 to reserve your tickets today!

kaynak : NBA

Heat's fortunes riding on lucky (or bad) lottery bounce

2008-05-20T11:41:00.000+03:00

It won't be a 7-Eleven on a Wednesday or Saturday night.

Instead, it will be the Secaucus, N.J., studios of NBA Entertainment on a Tuesday night.

But when it comes to getting lucky, the desperation, hope, greed will be similar.

"Two hundred and fifty quick picks, please."

Such is the essence of the NBA Draft lottery, the random-but-weighted drawing that could shape the Miami Heat's future for years to come.

Just prior to the establishing of the draft order for the league's non-playoff teams, a computer will generate 1,000 random four-digit combinations. Two-hundred and fifty will be issued to the Heat, a fantasy four that could produce an eventual jackpot payoff of Memphis guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, or consolation prizes along the lines of Stanford center Brook Lopez or Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless.

Then the pingpong balls will be released.

A franchise's future will be in the balance.

"It's a competitive situation, even though you have nothing to do with it," said Heat General Manager Randy Pfund, who represented the team during its first lottery visit of the Pat Riley era. "When you're there, it turns into a very competitive thing."

The Heat is there because it was very uncompetitive , going a league-worst 15-67 to tie for the worst record in the franchise's 20 seasons.

Because of that, it has a better chance than any other team to land the first pick in the June 26 draft.

"It's nerve-racking, even though there's nothing you can do about it," said Heat Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Andy Elisburg, who will represent the Heat in the behind-the-scenes drawing. "It's a nerve-racking day as you get ready for it."

While Elisburg will be an anonymous observer, guard Dwyane Wade, who will represent the Heat on stage as the envelopes are opened, figures eventually to have input into the situation.

Should the Heat land the first pick, Wade has made clear his preference for Rose as a backcourt partner.

Should the Heat fail to land one of the first two selections, Wade has hinted of a preference for some type of win-now trade, similar to what Boston did with No. 5 for Ray Allen last season.

With Wade in position to opt out of his contract after two more seasons, today could prove to be as much of a set-up for the June trade market as the draft. By rule, the Heat would have to exercise its pick before it deals it, with next season's first-round pick already ticketed for the Timberwolves to complete the ill-fated Ricky Davis acquisition.

Should the Heat land the right to select Rose, it would take a huge step toward rounding out its lineup, with Rose at point guard, Wade at shooting guard, Udonis Haslem at power forward and Shawn Marion at small forward.

Should Beasley wind up as the most likely option, it would mean a considerable amount of tinkering, with a logjam at forward with Haslem and Marion.

A pick at three or four, on the other hand, could provide a long-term answer at center, should Lopez be the choice. Currently, the best the Heat has to offer in the middle is Mark Blount. Of course, currently the best it has to offer at point guard is Marcus Banks. Every other option at those positions ended the season as impending free agents.

While the lottery is weighted, it also is designed to discourage teams from intentionally losing, as some accused the Heat of late in the season.

Because of that, the Heat actually has a better chance of landing the No. 4 pick (35.8 percent) than No. 1 (25 percent). Only three times since 1990 has the team with the top seed won the drawing: the Nets, with Derrick Coleman in 1990; the Cavaliers, with LeBron James in 2003; and the Magic, with Dwight Howard, in 2004.

Last year, Memphis went into the process as the No. 1 seed and exited with the No. 4 pick, going on to draft Ohio State point guard Mike Conley Jr.

That led then-Grizzlies President Jerry West to fume, "I don't think the lottery is fair. I never liked it. I don't think it's a good system at all. Period."

In 2002, the Heat nearly became a huge fan of the lottery.

With Elisburg clutching his number sheet, the first ball out of the hopper was 13. The Heat had it.

The second number was eight. The Heat had that, too.

The third number was 11. Suddenly, the Heat was one number from Yao Ming.

The fourth number was four. Bingo! — for the Houston Rockets. (The Heat needed a "9" or "10".)

The Heat exited that lottery at No. 10, eventually drafting Caron Butler.

The following year, in 2003, its most recent lottery visit, the Heat did not come close to the four-number combination for James.

Now the Heat is flush with lottery combinations, but also aware there only will be one or two true winners tonight.

"There's one person with a fist pump or a shout or a yell," Elisburg said of the moment of truth. "Everyone else is fairly quiet."

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning Photos 8

2008-05-20T11:39:00.002+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 7

2008-05-20T11:37:00.002+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 6

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 5

2008-05-16T08:05:00.001+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 4

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 3

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ZO'da Son Dakika Haberi

2008-05-16T07:44:00.001+03:00

Gelecek yıl basketbola dönüp dönmeyeceği yılan hikayesine dönen Alonzo Mourning ile ilgili şok bir gelişme yaşandı. Miami basınındaki iddialara göre oyuncunun gelecek sezon formasına kavuşacağı belirtilirken, kendi isteğinin de bu yönde olduğu ileri sürüldü.

Yaşadığı ciddi sakatlıklar ile sağlık sorunları nedeniyle sahalardan uzak kalacağı defalarca söylenen ve basketbolu bırakabileceği dahi belirtilen yıldız oyuncunun, daha da fazla sağlık problemleriyle uğraşmaması halinde dönüşünün kesin olduğu vurgulandı.

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 2

2008-05-09T03:34:00.001+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Photos 1

2008-05-09T03:29:00.002+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 12

2008-05-06T11:12:00.002+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 11

2008-05-06T11:08:00.002+03:00

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Stop Chafing, Global Warming

2008-05-06T11:06:00.001+03:00

Steve Nash and Alonzo Mourning are among several athletes pushing a new brand of anti-chafing lube.

Really.

Mission brand anti-friction cream, according to the Mission website:

Regardless of sport or level, every athlete has to endure irritation stemming from skin-to-skin or clothing-to-skin friction at some time. Knowing that petroleum jellies and band-aids are nothing more than quick fixes, just as likely to irritate already sensitive skin, our team of professional athletes and scientists developed Anti-Friction Cream.

A little anti-friction goes a long way -- ounce for ounce, the concentrated formula lasts five times longer than traditional lubricants. Which means you can push yourself as far as you can go, and then some.

So, what does this have to do with global warming?

Are we to cool the planet one chafed groin at a time?

Not exactly. This is part of a bigger line of Mission skincare products (Nash is said to be especially fond of the foot synergy gel), from which a portion of the proceeds reportedly go to various charities, including Nash's charity, Mourning's charity, and StopGlobalWarming.org.

kaynak : NBA

Miccosukee Zo's Summer Groove Makes Summer Travel to Miami Cooler Than Ever

2008-05-03T04:37:00.000+03:00

MIAMI, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Are you dreading the summer blues? Don't know where to jet away? Well, the Groove just got flashier! NBA Champ Alonzo Mourning joined by teammate Dwyane Wade, known as "Flash" on the court, will add a little flash to your summer during the Miccosukee Zo's Summer Groove Introducing D. Wade (ZSG) in Miami, Florida July 9-13, 2008.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080501/CLTH062 )

The five-day ZSG weekend takes place in hip and trendy Miami offering something for everyone - golf, comedy, concert, benefit dinner, free block party, all-star basketball game, and after-parties galore, in addition to the plethora of offerings found only in Miami, the sizzling beach and nightlife capital of the world!

ZSG, Miami's blockbuster event of the summer, has also launched a new travel-booking engine at www.ZSG.com/travel to make it easier for fans to make their hotel arrangements and buy tickets to ZSG events. Visitors will find savings from ZSG hotel partners including hotel rates with significant savings of up to 10 to 42 percent off at chic boutiques, golf and spa resorts, gambling paradise and more. Travelers will also get access to information on Miami attractions and travel partner deals, such as a 5 percent discount off domestic flights on American Airlines and a 5 to 25 percent discount, depending on fleet size, at Avis Rent A Car.

For more information call 305/476-0095 or visit www.ZSG.com/Travel to make travel plans now and book the City Furniture Golf Classic, Publix Benefit Dinner, Heineken Comedy Jam & Concert, Block Party, and Carnival Cruise Lines All-Star Basketball Game. Now in its 12th year, proceeds from ZSG benefit Alonzo Mourning Charities and Wade's World Foundation.

Alonzo Mourning Charities is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public fundraising foundation. Its mission is to encourage the educational development of youth by creating programs and youth enrichment centers that promote positive change in low socioeconomic communities. Since 1997, they have raised more than $6.5 million for various programs that aid in the development of children and their families. www.AMCharities.org.

Wade's World Foundation provides support to community-based organizations that promote education, health and social skills for children in at-risk situations. Since 2003, Dwyane and his family have been dedicated to giving back to their core communities in the Chicago and South Florida areas through a variety of community outreach programs. www.dwyanewade.com.

Website: http://www.amcharities.org/
Website: http://www.dwyanewade.com/
Website: http://www.ZSG.com/travel/

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 10

2008-05-03T04:36:00.001+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 9

2008-05-03T04:33:00.001+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 8

2008-05-01T05:25:00.000+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 7

2008-05-01T05:22:00.002+03:00

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Wade, Mourning react to Heat coaching change

2008-05-01T05:20:00.000+03:00

Miami Heat President and Head Coach Pat Riley has stepped down as Head Coach of the Miami Heat, but will continue to serve as team President. Former Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting Erik Spoelstra has been elevated to head coach. Spoelstra becomes the sixth head coach in franchise history.

Here’s Dwyane Wade reaction to the coaching change: “I am excited about the future of our organization….as head coach - Pat Riley has instilled in me values that enabled me to win a championship in just three seasons. I’ve seen him do the necessary things to make us winners and I believe that with his focus on being president and his commitment to the team - we will once again become a contender…I believe in Coach Spo and have complete confidence that our team will succeed with him at the helm.”

And here’s what Alonzo Mourning said: “A big reason for coming to Miami was to help Coach Riley build a winning team and franchise…we’ve experienced many rough times together on the road to the 2006 championship, and those experiences made the winning that much more gratifying. I admire Coach Riley and his accomplishments and I am also proud of Spo, who will now step into this position to take the organization back to our winning ways.”

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 6

2008-04-29T04:52:00.002+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 5

2008-04-29T04:50:00.001+03:00

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McDyess, Young tough it out after shots to nose

2008-04-29T04:46:00.000+03:00

Thaddeus Young's nose is still swollen. But the 19-year-old 76ers rookie was still better off than the Pistons' Antonio McDyess.

Young suffered a bloody nose late in Game 3 on Friday, when he was hit there at the same time that another Pistons player was hitting him in the back. He didn't get the names or numbers of the perpetrators.

"It was like a pinball machine, and I was the ball," Young said with a laugh.

Young went down to the ground, his nose bloody. But it wasn't broken, and even though he was listed as day-to-day, Young said there was never a doubt that he would play Sunday night.

That wasn't the case with McDyess. He was accidentally hit there by Andre Iguodala as they were battling for a rebound less than a minute before Young got hit. That came midway through the third quarter. McDyess left the game and didn't return.

He was diagnosed with a broken nose. He flew back to Detroit for surgery on Saturday.

McDyess returned in time for Game 4 on Sunday night, and he was cleared to play. But he didn't start, and he was fitted for a protective mask. Jason Maxiell started in his place.

Still, it was an emotional lift for the Pistons, especially when McDyess finished with 10 points in 20 minutes.

"I told the team that we have a guy who got operated on [Saturday], has flown [to Detroit] and back, was throwing up [Saturday] night, has a broken nose and is competing harder than anybody else on the floor," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "That should show you how bad he really wants this."

Even Young said he was impressed that McDyess was able to play one day after having surgery.

"He's tough," Young said. "A broken nose, and coming back one day later -- that's tough."
Dissing on Detroit

The Pistons have not impressed Alonzo Mourning or Charles Barkley, who are both analysts for TNT's coverage of the playoffs.

"You can't just show up in the playoffs with your name on your jersey," Mourning said. "You have to put forth the effort. The Pistons are being outworked [by the 76ers]. You can see the Sixers running after loose balls. [Samuel] Dalembert is having a wonderful series, he's contesting every shot. I'd like to see the best player on the court, Rasheed Wallace, assert himself in there."

Added Barkley: "Detroit has to stop living off the year they won the championship and start playing hard. They are starting to believe, 'We are the Pistons,' but they won a championship a long time ago [in 2004]. They've gotten beaten the last few years and they don't play hard at all. They play cool. They play very pretty."
Evans for mayor?

Reggie Evans has become a fan favorite in Philadelphia, and it's easy to see why.

He hustles after loose balls. He takes charges. And the fans appreciate his enthusiasm.

GM Ed Stefanski has noticed this, too.

"Reggie could be the mayor of Philadelphia if he wanted to be right now," Stefanski said. "They love Reggie. Reggie is who we are in Philadelphia. We look at ourselves as blue collar-type people. We work hard. That's who we are as a city and they love him."

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 4

2008-04-28T02:47:00.001+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallapers 3

2008-04-28T02:41:00.003+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallpaper 2

2008-04-26T23:09:00.002+03:00

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Alonzo Mourning Wallapers 1

2008-04-26T23:05:00.002+03:00

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Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning, Dwyane Wade to appear on TNT

2008-04-26T00:28:00.000+03:00

Even at 15-67, the Miami Heat will wind up with playoff exposure after all.

Center Alonzo Mourning, who often has dabbled in television and could face a career choice in the wake of his season-ending knee surgery, will appear as a guest analyst on TNT's Saturday playoff coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Mourning will also appear during the cable network's coverage of the Magic-Raptors and Lakers-Nuggets playoff games that follow.

The veteran center has said he would not make a decision on a 2008-09 return until closer to the start of next season.

On May 1, Heat guard Dwyane Wade will appear on TNT's coverage, with that game schedule yet to be determined.

As with Mourning, Wade will join the studio team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

While Wade has appeared in numerous commercials with Barkley, he also has received criticism from the former All-Star forward about not taking more of a leadership role amid the Heat's struggles this season.

The Heat so struggled this past season that its final scheduled TNT appearance, a March 27 game in Detroit, was removed from the network's schedule, as were the Heat's remaining three national-television appearances.

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Alonzo Mourning Biography

2008-04-26T00:17:00.002+03:00

Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. (born February 8, 1970, in Chesapeake, Virginia) is a American professional basketball player who plays for the NBA's Miami Heat.

Known simply as "Zo", Mourning plays at center and is 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall, and weighs 261 lb (118 kg/18.6 st). His tenacity on defense twice earned him NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and perennially placed him on the NBA All-Defensive Team. He is applauded for making a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant and years later winning his first NBA Championship with the Heat. He has also played for the Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets.

Mourning and his wife Tracy have one son, Alonzo III ("Trey"), and a daughter, Myka Sydney.

Alonzo's autobiography Resilience, detailing his inspirational recovery from kidney transplant surgery to win a NBA title, is scheduled for release by Random House on September 30, 2008.

NBA career

[edit] Early career

During his time at Indian River High School in Chesapeake he led the team to 51 straight victories and a state title his junior year (1987). As a senior he averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocked shots a game. His play drew many comparisons to a younger version of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who also played at center. Mourning played college basketball for the Georgetown University Hoyas. He led the nation in blocked shots his freshman year and was an All American his last year there. He was selected second overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, behind Shaquille O'Neal. Mourning was named to the league's all-rookie team in 1993 after averaging 21.0 pts, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.47 blocks. He finished second to Shaquille O'Neal in rookie of the year voting. He posted the highest scoring average of any rookie in Hornets history. Mourning and O'Neal were the first NBA rookies since David Robinson in 1989-90 to average 20 or more points and 10-plus rebounds in their first seasons. Mourning shattered Charlotte's blocked-shots records, becoming the Hornets' all-time career leader in the 49th game of the season. The greatest moment of Mourning's rookie season came on May 5, 1993 in Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. His 20-footer at the buzzer gave the Hornets a 104-103 victory in the game and a three-games-to-one victory in the series.

In the 1994-95 season, Mourning and teammate Larry Johnson elevated the Hornets into a 50-win team and brought them to the playoffs. Mourning ranked first on the team in scoring (21.3 ppg), rebounding (9.9 rpg), blocked shots (2.92 per game), and field goal percentage (.519).

Miami Heat

Friction with Johnson and contract issues forced a change, so after three years in Charlotte, he was traded to Miami, where he played for the Heat for the next seven seasons. He was the centerpiece of the Pat Riley-coached Miami Heat, averaging close to 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, and dominating the paint with his intimidating shot-blocking. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice during this period and was named into the All-NBA First Team after leading the Heat in scoring (20.1 ppg), field-goal percentage (.511), rebounds (11.0), blocked shots (3.9) during the 1999-2000 NBA season. He and Tim Hardaway led the Heat into playoffs, where the Knicks-Heat rivalry intensified.

In the 1997 NBA Playoffs, with the Heat down 3-0 to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, Mourning guaranteed a victory in Game 4. The Heat won the Game 87-80, but the Heat lost in five. The next season, Miami would be eliminated in the first round by the Knicks, a series in which Mourning was suspended for the 5th and deciding game of due to an on-court fight with ex-teammate Larry Johnson where Knicks Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy wound up hanging onto Mourning's leg in an attempt to break it up. Miami would also be eliminated by the Knicks in the playoffs the following two seasons.

In 2000, Miami underwent an overhaul to attempt to put together the pieces to win a championship, and expectations leading up to the season were high. However, prior the start of the 2000-01 season, Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a disease of the kidneys, that had caused him to miss the first five months of that season. Even after the diagnosis, Mourning returned and played in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. Because his condition worsened, Mourning did not play during the entire 2002-03 season and his expiring contract was not renewed by the then-rebuilding Heat.

[edit] New Jersey Nets

As a free agent, in 2003 he signed a four-year contract with the New Jersey Nets. But on November 25, 2003 Mourning retired from the NBA due to complications from his kidney disease. On December 19 of that year he underwent a successful kidney transplant. In 2004, he started practicing with the Nets again, and made the team's regular season roster for a part of his time spent with the Nets in the 2004-05 season. However, he did not play a significant role with the Nets and openly complained to the media that he wanted out of New Jersey, especially after the team traded Kenyon Martin. [1] Mourning was traded to the Toronto Raptors on December 17, 2004. Mourning refused to report to the team and the Raptors were forced to buy out his contract, at a remaining 9 million dollars, on February 11, 2005. Team officials later said that he did not meet the medical conditions to play for the Raptors. [2] [3] Mourning then finished the season with the Miami Heat being paid a second salary, the veteran's minimum.[4]

[edit] Back with the Heat

After being unhappy at the prospect of playing for a losing franchise, Mourning re-signed with the Heat on March 1, 2005. His role was reduced as a backup because of superstar Shaquille O'Neal, although he has been called upon as a starter due to O'Neal missing stretches due to injury. Shaq and Mourning even played together on the court at times, with Mouring playing power forward. Because of physical limitations, his minutes were reduced, but was still a steady contributor. Mourning's tenacious defense, steady offense, and all around hustle helped the Heat gain and maintain the second-best record in the NBA's Eastern conference during the 2005-06 season; his intensity had earned him the title "The Ultimate Warrior" amongst Miami Heat fans. Mourning finished the regular season ranking third in blocked shots at 2.66 per game, despite only playing 20 minutes per contest.

The Miami Heat and Mourning finally won the elusive NBA Championship in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2. Although he was used as a reserve center behind Shaquille O'Neal during the Finals, he contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the decisive Game 6 of the series and was a strong force throughout.

After winning the championship, Mourning announced that he would return to the Heat in 2006-07 to defend their title, despite receiving offers of more money from other teams, including the San Antonio Spurs. In 2007, Mourning announced he would return for one more year with the Heat and his 15th season. "It will definitely be my last year", Mourning said. After starting the season on a solid note averaging 6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.75 blocks in just over 16 played per 24 games[1], Mourning tore his patellar tendon in his right knee[2] on December 19 during the first quarter of a 117-111 OT loss in Atlanta.[3][4] The injury, which occurred on the fourth anniversary of his successful kidney transplant, would be career-threatening. But rumors have persisted about a possible return, and Mourning himself said that this wasn't the way he wanted to end his career.

Up to retirement, Mourning averages the most blocks in the NBA per 48 minutes with 5.46.

During the 2007-08 season, he became the Heat's all-time leader in points scored.

[edit] Career highlights

* NBA Champion: 2006
* All-NBA First Team: 1999
* All-NBA Second Team: 2000
* 2-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 1999, 2000
* 2-time NBA All-Defensive First Team: 1999, 2000
* 7-time NBA All-Star: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002
* Heat Franchise All-time Leading Scorer
* Led NBA in blocked shots: 3.91 bpg in 1999
* NBA All-Rookie 1st Team in 1993
* Won bronze at the 1990 FIBA World Championship with the US national team [5]
* Won gold at the 1994 FIBA World Championship [6] and the 2000 Olympic Games with the US national team

[edit] Kidney transplant

On November 25, 2003, Mourning's cousin and a former U. S. Marine, Jason Cooper, was visiting Mourning's gravely ill grandmother in the hospital. Mourning's father was present and informed Cooper that Mourning was retiring that very same day from the NBA because of a life-threatening kidney disease, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, the same problem that Sean Elliott had in 1999. Cooper asked if there was anything he could do, and began to contemplate donating one of his kidneys to his estranged cousin, who he had not seen in 25 years and whom he only knew through basketball. Cooper was tested for compatibility, along with many other family members and friends (including fellow NBA center and good friend Patrick Ewing); as fate would have it, during his grandmother's funeral, Mourning received the good news that Jason Cooper was a match.

Mourning received Cooper's left kidney on December 19, 2003.

[edit] Charitable Work

In 1997, Alonzo Mourning established Alonzo Mourning Charities Inc. to aid in the development of children and families living in at-risk situations and provides support and services that enhance the lives of youth of promise.

After being diagnosed with Focal Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a degenerative kidney ailment, at the start of the 2000-2001 season, Mourning launched Zo’s Fund for Life , a campaign which seeks to raise funds for research, education, and testing to fight Focal Glomerulosclerosis Funds are allocated toward: research for a cure, education for doctors and the general public, testing for early detection and a funds for those not able to afford medication.

In 2007, Alonzo Mourning along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Mia Hamm, Jeff Gordon, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, and Cal Ripken Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.[7]

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Mourning's fundraiser a knockout success

2008-04-25T06:49:00.002+03:00

More than 1,500 people packed Miami Beach's Mansion nightclub, 1235 Washington Ave., on April 10 to watch real estate heavyweights take the ring for charity.

It was the inaugural event for Broker Boxing Federation Miami, founded by David Goldberg of the Comras Company and Robert Sena of the Alterra Capital Group. Net proceeds -- approximately $100,000 -- will benefit Alonzo Mourning Charities.

''The event was a very creative idea and it sold tickets,'' Mourning said. ``Most importantly, we got the support of the community.''

Goldberg, 30, a Chicago native who moved to Miami Beach in 2004, says he's always loved ''entertaining sports like boxing, wrestling and hockey.'' A promoter before becoming a real estate broker, Goldberg co-founded Boxing Federation Chicago in 2003.

The event featured host Mourning, James Brown impersonator Tony Wilson and seven bouts with local brokers, including Josh Souza, Grant Killingsworth and Ryan Ackerman. Scheduled to fight but absent: real estate magnate Thomas Kramer, who had throat surgery recent.

Sponsors/judges included Diego Lowenstein of the Lionstone Group; Michael Capponi and Jeff Morr of Majestic Properties; Katrina Campins and Michael Comras. Also in attendance was Brooke Hogan, filming her new reality show.

Founded in 1997, Alonzo Mourning Charities (www.AMCharities.org) encourages the educational development of youth through programming and youth enrichment centers in low-income communities.

WOMEN'S STORIES

Opening reception on Thursday at Opera Gallery in Bal Harbour Shops for Women's Stories, an exhibition featuring the work of more than 20 internationally acclaimed painters and sculptors who focus on women as their subject.

Featured artists include Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Robert Indiana and Mel Ramos.

A percentage of sales from the exhibit will benefit Margaux's Miracle Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2001 in memory of Margaux Renee Grossman, a South Florida teen who lost her battle with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer, at age 15.

The reception is 6:30-9:30 p.m. Call 305-868-3337. The Women's Stories exhibit runs through May 9. For information, visit www.operagallery.com.

ART OF EDUCATION

Lehrman Community Day School held the Think Outside the Box art contest March 10-31. Area students were invited to create an original work of art using a shoe box and their creativity.

More than 40 entries were submitted, and nine students were named winners during a dinner/auction benefit April 10 at The Sagamore Hotel, 1671 Collins Ave.

Benefit hosts were Sagamore owners Christine and Martin Taplin, and Jennifer and Neil Sazant. Guest speakers included Tom Lollar, director of Visual Arts for New York's Lincoln Center, and Miami art collector Martin Z. Marguiles. The event raised $140,000 for the school.

Top winners in the art contest were Kira Browning (early childhood); Dana Furman (elementary school) and Jake Stauber (middle school). Their prizes: a weekend stay at the Sagamore with their parents and Toys R Us gift cards. Lehrman Community Day School is at 727 Lehrman Dr. in North Beach.

CHERISHED MINISTER

RETIRES

After 25 years at the pulpit of the Church by the Sea in Bal Harbour, the Rev. Dr. David Wynne Rees is retiring -- or ''re-directing,'' as he puts it. The 67-year-old senior minister gave his final sermon April 13.

''The church needs new energy, leadership and ideas as it faces the future,'' he said. ``Besides, I'm a [lung] cancer survivor of nine years and my wife wants to spend more time with me.''

Rees' wife, Helen, recently retired as dean of Miami Country Day Middle School after 22 years. The couple is preparing for a cruise to the Panama Canal, ending up in San Francisco, where their two daughters live and work.

Rees says over the years, the Church by the Sea's congregation has become diverse. ''We offer something on a spiritual level that appeals to a wide variety,'' he said.

Rees is now senior minister emeritus. Associate Minister Dr. Priscilla Whitehead will serve as the church's acting minister until an interim minister is named and a search for a new senior minister is conducted.

As for his replacement having big shoes to fill? ''No, they're size 9,'' Rees said.

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D-Wade, Zo go big time again

2008-04-25T06:49:00.001+03:00

Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade have teamed up to win a NBA title, they’re teaming up to present Zo’s Summer Groove this summer, and they both endorse the new G2 (Gatorade) sports drink.

Now, separately, they’re doing it big once again.

Mourning and Wade are are scheduled to appear on TNT’s playoff coverage. Mourning will in studio Saturday at 2:30 p.m. with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley for the pre-game show and he’ll do halftime appearances for the Orlando-Toronto game and the L.A. Lakers-Denver game.

Look for Zo to deliver the same no-nonsense attitude he carries on the court and with local media. Hopefully someone asks Zo about today’s players versus players when he first entered the league. It’s sermon you don’t want to miss if you’re old-school.

Wade will appear in studio the entire night a week from today (Thursday, May 1). Most likely he’ll be more diplomatic and clown around with Barkley, which should be fun.

One thing is sure — both players will be asked about the Heat’s miserable 15-67 season, how the NBA champions from two years ago went from first to worst in almost record time, and whether Pat Riley is returning. The answer to the last question should be the most interesting. Locals already know the answers to the first two issues.

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Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning Unite for Summer Groove

2008-04-25T06:46:00.000+03:00

For the last 11 years Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning has been running his fundraiser, Zo's Summer Groove with much success but it looks like his team mate Dwyane Wade wants to get in on the action. Zo announced that Wade will be co-hosting the 12^th Annual Zo's Summer Groove which will go down from July 9 to 13 in Miami.

"I admire the young fella for not only what he's done on the court, but for the person he is," Mourning told the Miami Herald about Wade. "There's going to be a day when he's going to head this event, take the torch and run with it."

The week will consist of youth basketball clinics, a golf tournament, benefit dinners, a concert, a block party, and an all-star basketball game where Wade will coach the youngins' with Zo coachoing the vets. The proceeds from the events go towards Alonzo Mourning Charities and Wade's World Foundation which both benefit a variety of charities nationwide. For more info check out http://www.zsg.com.

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Mourning hasn't ruled out return just yet

2008-04-01T21:22:00.000+03:00

Alonzo Mourning, recovering from surgery to repair the patella and quadriceps tendons in his right leg, said on Friday that he is "about six or seven months away from making a decision" about whether or not he will retire after this season.
''The mental part is there,'' Mourning said. ''I still want to play the game.'' Mourning is 38 years old, but as he put it, "I have a lot to offer."

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TRAVELING MAN

2008-03-29T15:07:00.000+02:00

Pat Riley continued to juggle his roles as Heat president and coach when he left the team to attend Saturday's NCAA Tournament games in Houston to scout potential prospects for the NBA Draft.

With the Heat (13-59) poised to land one of the top four picks in the June draft, Riley has briefly stepped away from the team for the third time in as many weeks to scout players.

The Heat, two games into a four-game trip, traveled Friday to Boston and did not practice. It plays the Celtics on Sunday and Indiana on Monday. Riley, who planned to also attend a regional Saturday in either Phoenix or Charlotte, N.C., was not certain if he would coach Sunday's game.

Riley was in Houston for another look at Memphis point guard Derrick Rose. He also could get second looks this weekend at Stanford center Brook Lopez, UCLA center Kevin Love, North Carolina guard Ty Lawson and center Tyler Hansbrough. But Riley recently said most of his scouting work is done with the use of a laptop computer when he travels.

''Now that I've got video of these guys, before I land, I've got enough information about what they do, what they look like defensively, all that stuff,'' Riley said. ``You get an idea what a guy's about and go from there.''

Should Riley not return in time for Sunday's game, assistant Ron Rothstein is expected to coach the Heat for the fourth time this month.

ANOTHER GO FOR ZO?

Earlier this month, Alonzo Mourning said he was still ''about six or seven months from making a decision'' about his future. But during an interview aired Thursday on WIOD as part of the Heat's pregame show, Mourning sounded optimistic about a return.

''The mental part is there,'' Mourning said. ''I still want to play the game. I still feel like I have a lot to offer.'' Mourning, 38, tore multiple tendons in his right knee during a Dec. 19 game against the Hawks. Before the injury, he planned to retire after this season when his contract expires.

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Heat's Ricky Davis has proven resilient

2008-03-29T15:03:00.001+02:00

What feels like the longest season in Heat history is down to 10 games. For Ricky Davis, that puts the finish line to his marathon within view.

While the overall result will almost certainly be the NBA's worst record, the veteran swingman still has put himself in position for a small victory, as the lone Heat player to appear in all 82 games.

"I said that to him the other day in a meeting," said coach Pat Riley. "I mean, we're trying to be honest about this whole thing and truthful and not talk about it, but guys have to look at what is it they've contributed, either personally or to the team this year."

For all that has gone wrong with his Heat reunion, and for all the criticism he has endured, including this week's rebuke from former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, Davis has proven reliable and resilient.

"Some guys can just stay the course by showing tremendous character during this adversity," Riley said.

Like teammates who have opted to step aside, Davis has had his share of lingering ailments, including groin issues. But he will close the season as the lone Heat player to appear in more than 70 games.

"I came in to play all 82 games," he said, in position to do so for the third time in his 10 seasons, after playing 81 games for the Timberwolves last season. "That's what it's about, just finishing out the season."

It is a marked contrast to Davis' first term with the franchise, when a foot injury limited him to seven games with the team in 2000-01.

"I'm still here right now, just try to help them along," he said.

"I'd rather be playing than sitting down. Like coach said, I'm going out there and earning that check."

Signaling a truce?

Apparently Thursday's conversation between Riley and Suns President Steve Kerr brought to a close the war of words between the Heat and O'Neal.

"I'm not going to comment anymore," O'Neal said at a Friday shootaround in Philadelphia. "I'm the type of guy who only speaks once. I shouldn't have to speak twice. I said what I said."

O'Neal had previously attempted to clarify that he was talking about the lack of talented depth during his final months with the Heat, not specifically about Davis and Chris Quinn.

"A lot of times," O'Neal said, "statements get misconstrued. I said what I said. I clarified what I said. I'm not going to talk anymore about it."

Decisions due

With Riley off scouting the NCAA Tournament, the Heat is off until Sunday's game in Boston.

That's when the 10-day contracts of D-League guard Blake Ahearn and forward Stephane Lasme expire. Kasib Powell's expires after Monday's game in Indiana. Players can be signed for up to two 10-day contracts per team, before their salaries must be guaranteed for the balance of the season.

"We're looking at a couple of other guys, but I sort of like what I see with a couple of these," Riley said. "It's hard to evaluate young guys when you aren't playing them with your best players. We're asking them to do things we wouldn't normally expect them to do."

Factoring into any decision on 10-day renewals will be the availability of guard Marcus Banks, who Riley expects back next week. Banks has been sidelined the past 11 games with a pulled right hamstring and is not on this four-game trip.

Mourning hopeful

As expected, Alonzo Mourning is talking about a comeback from this season's knee surgery. The 38-year-old center told WIOD radio, "I still want to play the game of basketball." Mourning said he would make a decision in August or September, with his rehab scheduled to extend beyond that time frame...

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McDonald's Game Notebook

2008-03-28T20:52:00.000+02:00

MILWAUKEE -- From the start, it was clear that Brandon Jennings of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) wasn't interested in scoring.

Unlike most McDonald's All-Americans, Jennings was only interested in dishing the rock. He had his sights set on the McDonald's assist record of 13, set by Jacque Vaughn back in 1993.

And for a while, it looked like he'd have the mark by the first half. Jennings assisted on the West's first five baskets, including several on spectacular alley oops, but he slowed down and finished with nine in the East's 107-102 victory.

Unfortunately, Jennings showed his displeasure on the court when someone missed a layup costing him a potential assist and then he took it a step further during the post-game press conference.

"I was trying to get that assist record," Jennings said. "If B.J. Mullens and Greg (Monroe) would've made their layups, I probably would have gotten it."

To be fair, Jennings may have been joking (although he wasn't laughing) and the question he was asked did refer to his teammates not being prepared for his passes, but there's no reason for Jennings to call out his star big men like that.

As NBA on ABC announcer Mark Jackson would say, Brandon Jennings, you're better than that.

Jennings is a great player and one of the most exciting in the game. But being a star point guard isn't just about throwing precision passes. Even more than that, it's about making your teammates better and inspiring them to play their best. It's one thing to show frustration in the heat of the moment when someone misses an easy basket, but there's no need to do so to the media following a game.

* * *

When the question of who was the most impressive player this week was posed to Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Mike Rosario and Willie Warren, it didn't take long to get an answer.

Without hesitation, they each said Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.). The Louisville-bound big man, who's RISE's No. 1 senior, impressed everything with his scary combination of size and agility.

"That's a big man," Rosario said.

For Samuels, who didn't start playing basketball until he was 13, that validated all of his effort.

"That's just hard work," Samuels said. "Guys acknowledging me is great and now I want to keep it up."

* * *

Presenting the MVP trophy to Evans following the boys' game was NBA star and 1988 McDonald's All-American co-MVP Alonzo Mourning.

Mourning was in town because he's heading up the McDonald's Advisory Council, which aims to educate the All-Americans about success on and off the court.

"It was smart that McDonald's put together this Advisory Council beacuse it gives an opportunity for the veteran stars of the game to come back and play a positive role in the current McDonald's All-American kids' lives," Mourning said. "We can provide insight, inspiration and help them understand that coming out here isn't just about the game, but to teach them it's important to establish a legacy in their community."

Jennings finished with 12 points and nine assists.

kaynak : NBA

Washington State's run brings ex-Hornet Bennett back to Charlotte

2008-03-28T20:51:00.000+02:00

The Cougars' first trip to the regional semifinals has brought Bennett back to Charlotte, where he played for parts of three seasons in the mid-1990s with the NBA's Hornets. He credited that experience for helping to shape his coaching philosophy.

"I played my 12 to 14 minutes a game, but I was part of (the team)," Bennett said Wednesday. "It didn't matter that I came from Green Bay. It's not a basketball hotbed. I got to play against (Michael) Jordan and with some of the greatest players, I think, in the game. It formed a lot of my thoughts about what matters right now."

The Hornets drafted Bennett in the second round in 1992 out of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and he averaged 3.5 points in 152 games from 1992-94 before a foot injury ended his career.

Among Bennett's most vivid memories of his years in Charlotte: mobbing Alonzo Mourning after his shot with 0.4 seconds left against Boston in the 1993 playoffs gave the Hornets their first postseason series victory in franchise history; going head-to-head with Muggsy Bogues in practice and routinely playing before sellout crowds at the since-demolished Charlotte Coliseum that embraced the city's first major professional sports team.

"The memories I have of just, night in and night out, playing in front of that crowd, getting to know (teammates Dell Curry, Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson) and just making the playoffs and being an up-and-coming team. It was real special," he said.

------

FULL CIRCLE: David Padgett left Kansas for Louisville the year after coach Roy Williams bolted for North Carolina. Now the Cardinals' big man might wind up playing against him this weekend.

When Padgett opted to transfer after his freshman season with the Jayhawks in 2003-04, one of the schools he considered was North Carolina.

"I loved him when I was recruiting him, because he was a big guy who could run, who could catch, who could pass, who had savvy," Williams said. "I think he's showing all of those things now."

During four seasons at Louisville, Padgett fought through multiple injuries -- including a broken kneecap earlier this season -- to become a unanimous all-Big East selection.

"Coach Williams and I have always had a great relationship, and I have great respect for him," Padgett said. "But it was just one of those situations where I felt that Louisville was going to be a better spot for me overall. It's just where I chose to go."

------

ROAD TRIPPING: Tennessee might have had some semblance of home-court advantage this weekend at Charlotte Bobcats Arena -- that is, if the top-seeded Tar Heels weren't also here.

Much has been made of North Carolina's proximity to its regional site. But they're just one of three teams here that have campuses located within a day's drive of the Charlotte area. Tennessee's campus in Knoxville is about 250 miles away, and Louisville is 500 miles northwest of the city.

Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl isn't a big believer in home-court advantage at this stage of the tournament, anyway.

"I don't think the crowd is going to do anything to intimidate Washington State, Louisville or Tennessee at this point," Pearl said. "We could play in Nashville, and there may be a few more folks in orange, and it could get hyped and it could catch fire. But it wouldn't intimidate a team that we're playing against."

------

CRIKEY!: Plenty of accolades have been showered upon North Carolina star forward Tyler Hansbrough this season. Washington State's Aron Baynes came up with a new one.

The Cougars' center, a native of Australia, likened Hansbrough to "a thrashing croc in the paint down there."

That comparison wasn't lost on Tar Heels point guard Ty Lawson.

"I can see why he says that -- I watch the 'Crocodile Hunter,"' Lawson quipped. "I've seen him thrashing, so I can see where he gets that from."

------

LAYUPS: One of Williams' concerns during the subregional in Raleigh was the large NCAA sticker at midcourt that he blamed for causing some players to slip. That won't be an issue here this weekend: logos and other floor markings are painted on the new court. ... Washington State's regional semifinal against the Tar Heels will be the school's first game in the state of North Carolina.

kaynak : NBA

College fundraiser to honor Alonzo Mourning and South Florida establishments

2008-03-28T20:49:00.001+02:00

The storied Orange Bowl has been smashed to smithereens, but it's signature fundraiser continues.

Former Heat player Alonzo Mourning and his philanthropic wife, Tracey, will be among the honorees March 28 at the Orange Bowl Foundation event at the Broward County Convention Center.

The Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, The African-American Research Library and Tarra L. Pressey will also be honored at the sixth annual dinner, which will feature r&b singer Eric Benet.

The Field of Dreams scholarships will be donated to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Florida Region, whose Fort Lauderdale chapter serves UNCF schools such as Florida Memorial University in Miami, Edward Waters College in Jacksonville and Bethune Cookman College in Daytona Beach.

Money raised will also provide academic scholarships to African-American high school athletes from South Florida schools who plan to attend a United Negro College Fund institution.

A reception begins at 7 p.m. and dinner will start at 8:30 p.m. at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

Tickets start at $125 per person, $1,000 for a corporate table and $1,500 for a premium corporate table (which includes preferred location seating, champagne and personal gift). For tickets or more information, call LaToya Williams at (305) 341-4728

kaynak : NBA

Hibbert savors his final Georgetown games

2008-02-12T14:03:00.000+02:00

There are times, when Roy Hibbert is in class at Georgetown, that he allows himself to briefly daydream about what the future holds. Walking across the stage to shake David Stern's hand. Starting a new life in the NBA, a life that will pay him millions.

And then he remembers why he stayed a Hoya for his senior season: getting to be a senior.

"I just try to focus on [thinking] I have three or four more home games at Georgetown," Hibbert said. "I just try to make the best of it right now. The memories are something I'll have the rest of my life."

Hibbert's leadership has been a big part of why the Hoyas have national championship aspirations this season. But Big East-leading Georgetown is coming off its third loss of the season Saturday, at Louisville, as it hosts Villanova tonight at the Verizon Center.

The 19-3 Hoyas are unbeaten (12-0) at home this season, with their other losses at top-ranked Memphis and 25th-ranked Pittsburgh.

Hibbert, the preseason Big East player of the year, has continued his rapid development, though his offensive numbers are by no means dominant (13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds per game). He and his teammates make their bones at the defensive end, where Georgetown is among the best defensive teams in the country. Before losing Saturday, John Thompson III's team led NCAA Division I in field-goal percentage allowed (35.5) and was fifth in points allowed (56.7 per game).

"I just do what Coach needs me to do, and rebounding is one thing I have to do," Hibbert said. "It's not [forward Jonathan Wallace's] responsibility; it's my responsibility. It's not DaJuan [Summers'] responsibility to get it done. I do the things that need to be done that nobody really knows about."

Last year's Final Four team was led by junior forward Jeff Green, who went to the NBA and the Seattle SuperSonics. With Green gone, Hibbert, forward Patrick Ewing Jr., and Wallace have led the way, and the Hoyas have been a more balanced team.

"His growth and his understanding have been tremendous," Thompson said. "If someone were to pick up a stat sheet and look at that, you may not see that. But his game has really grown. And then you get what you get from seniors. You get to this point of the year, and there is definitely an understanding, a sense of urgency. Roy's going to have a lot of years to play basketball in his life, but his time here is coming to an end. Seniors understand that."

That Hibbert has an NBA future still amuses many of his Georgetown teammates. To say he was not expected to continue the Georgetown big-man tradition of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo - or even, for that matter, lesser Hoyas frontcourt lights like longtime pros Don Reid or Othella Harrington - is among the grander of understatements.

Mourning chuckles when he recalls Hibbert's early steps on the McDonough Arena court where the Hoyas now practice. John Thompson Jr. - "Big John," the longtime Hoyas coach and father of the current coach - has often said that Hibbert was the least-coordinated big man he'd ever seen as a freshman.

"I was one person who can say I didn't think Roy was going to become as gifted as he's become," said Ewing Jr., who should know, being the son of the Hoyas and Knicks legend.

In his last two seasons, Hibbert has worked to become better at everything - including hitting an improbable three-pointer in the final seconds that beat Connecticut in January.

"It was a shocker," Ewing Jr. said. "I'm glad he took it when the score was tied, rather than when [Georgetown] was down."

But it's no longer surprising to see Hibbert doing surprising things on the court. And as the calendar gets close to the end of his amateur career, Hibbert gets more determined to try to stop time, for just a little while.

"Obviously, the top of the mountain is winning the tournament," Hibbert said. "I think we're on the side of the mountain right now, looking up, trying to make our way up. Coach tries to stress we want to keep improving. We don't want to take any steps backward. We don't want to go back down that mountain."

kaynak : NBA

An Inside Look at Student-Athletes: Dr. Knoll Knows

2008-02-12T14:02:00.000+02:00

The first time that Dr. Wayne Knoll started talking about Georgetown basketball, I was almost tempted to tune him out. Here was this highly respected professor of English who looked like he hadn’t attempted a free throw in decades — how could he possibly tell me anything new about sports?

In hindsight, I should have known better. This was the same man who had taught me so much about literary giants such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald. It made sense to think that I should at least listen to what he had to say about figurative towers like Ewing and Mourning.

In addition to having taught English at Georgetown since 1972, for past 23 years, Knoll has been the university’s faculty athletic representative (FAR). Between these two vantage points, Knoll has been able to develop a unique insight into not only Georgetown basketball, but Georgetown athletics in general.

For instance, he remembers 1982 very well. A young Patrick Ewing had enrolled in Knoll’s literary analysis class shortly after arriving on the Hilltop for his second semester. Ewing, according to Knoll, was shy and respectful, especially given his notoriety. He was also a dedicated student.

The day after a victory against Syracuse in February, Knoll recalls seeing Ewing standing outside his classroom. Ewing had played an integral role in the win the evening before, but at that moment he was visibly crippled by the flu.

“I told Patrick to go home!” recalls Knoll. “There was no reason for him to be in class when he was so clearly suffering.”

But Ewing wouldn’t budge.

“Dr. Knoll, I don’t want to miss class,” the budding superstar replied. “The basketball season has started now, and I’m worried I’m going to miss a lot of classes.”

Knoll was impressed with Ewing’s dedication to academics — Patrick had even turned in the paper that was due that day.

Later that season, the basketball team was in Utah for the opening round of NCAA Tournament games. Ralph Dalton, another player who was serving as the team’s academic captain that season, Ewing and three other team members were all enrolled in Knoll’s literary analysis course.

The five players gathered around to talk to Knoll. Dalton spoke first.

“Dr. Knoll,” he began, “We’ve finished all of your assignments! And we’re going to win! And we’re going all the way! So can you give us the rest of the assignments so we don’t fall behind?”

What was Knoll’s response to his intrepid student-athletes?

Chuckling, Knoll remembers, “I ended up giving them more assignments — all the way up through the National Championship.”

Knoll was able to cultivate intimate friendships with his student athletes. He recalls how Ewing, a fine-art major, would occasionally stop by to show off his latest work. Today Knoll counts one of Ewing’s charcoal sketches among his most prized possessions.

Another player with whom Knoll developed a close friendship was Alonzo Mourning. “He was brilliant,” recalls Knoll, “Articulate, smart, he could do anything.”

Mourning has similarly kind words to say about Knoll. In a recent interview, he stated, “Dr. Knoll was the type of professor that guided you through some of the obstacles that you were going to face in class. He played an important role in my success as a student athlete.”

Whenever Knoll teaches poetry, he likes to tell his classes the story of how Mourning was a gifted poet. Not only did Mourning routinely write his own poetry, Knoll still possesses a volume of work that ’Zo composed during his tenure at Georgetown.

Considering Knoll’s friendships with stars such as Ewing and Mourning, one naturally wonders if he had any experience with Allen Iverson.

“I didn’t teach A.I.,” recalls Knoll, “because no one taught A.I.”

Eventually, Knoll transcended his career as a professor and added the position of Georgetown’s FAR to his resume. In this role, he serves as the main liaison between student athletes and Georgetown faculty. Knoll is proud to point out that during his tenure as FAR, Georgetown has never had an academic-athletic scandal. He also cherishes the esteem that other schools have for Georgetown.

“Our Jesuit influence and motto is not just lip service, we really value the concept of a healthy mind and a healthy body,” Knoll says.

One person who certainly also holds Knoll in high regard is President DeGioia. In a recent statement, DeGioia, who was twice a student of Knoll’s during his undergraduate years at Georgetown, noted that “[Knoll] has embraced our philosophy that Georgetown’s athletics programs field competitive teams with student-athletes that demonstrate sportsmanship as well as academic success.”

It’s certainly true that academic achievement is never far from the mind of Knoll. Another of his responsibilities involves helping to monitor student athletes’ GPAs. His motto is to be proactive rather than reactive and to encourage those in need to seek assistance before it’s too late, so he is exceedingly proud of the fact that there is often not a single student-athlete in academic difficulty.

“The only thing I ask of each of them,” Knoll says of his student-athletes, “is not to sit in the back of the class as if you were just an add-on! Come on up front!”

Men’s basketball may be the highest profile sport at Georgetown, but to Knoll, all student-athletes are created equal.

Many years ago, Knoll remembers an afternoon when several members of the varsity football team came to him frustrated with the state of their program. Recent incidents involving public urination, intoxication and academic difficulties certainly signaled to Knoll that a change in the culture of the team was necessary.

Working with former Athletic Director Frank Rienzo, Knoll says he was shocked to discover that the coach’s response to the difficulties was a simple “boys will be boys” mantra.

That’s not the way we handle things here at Georgetown.

In terms of the problem players, Knoll’s directive to the coach was to “get them all out of there, off the team.” When the head coach was finally fired, Knoll played an essential role on the hiring committee as they vetted new candidates. According to Knoll, the main criterion for the new coach was not an athletic winner, but one “who understood the place of athletics on this campus as a part of Georgetown.”

During his days at Kansas State, Knoll was quite the student-athlete in his own right. He played three sports — two kinds of track and field as well as varsity football. “Third string tailback,” he says, “but it was still fun.”

Today, even after 36 years of service, Knoll remains committed to his responsibilities at Georgetown. He is drawing up a blueprint for future FARs so that they will be able to focus more on the intricacies of NCAA compliance issues without having to sacrifice the personal care and attentiveness to the athletes themselves.

Considering his immediate future, Knoll thinks only in terms of Georgetown. “I remain so stimulated by my vocation as an instructor and faculty representative,” says Knoll, “I have no plans to retire.”

It’s good that Knoll plans on sticking around for a while, because there’s no denying that his will be a tough act to follow. Both as an instructor in the classroom and a valuable advisor outside of it, Knoll has directly and positively impacted the lives of several decades worth of Hoyas.

I can’t believe that even for a second I questioned what Knoll could teach me about athletics.

With just four years on the Hilltop, there isn’t enough time to learn it all.

kaynak : NBA

Old school big men Hibbert, Padgett last of "dying breed"

2008-02-09T23:51:00.000+02:00

Who says traditional centers have gone the way of the underhanded free throws and short shorts?

Certainly not in the Big East, where the legacy of Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning lives on in Louisville's David Padgett and Georgetown's Roy Hibbert.

The duo, along with Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, have ushered in an mini-big man Renaissance in the Big East.

When Padgett and the Cardinals (17-6, 7-3 Big East) host the sixth-ranked Hoyas (19-2, 9-1) and Hibbert, there will be hook shots and head fakes, power dribbles and boxouts. Heck, there might even be a sky hook or little lefty-flip.

While most of their brethren have tried to mold themselves into jump shooters more comfortable on the wing than in the paint, Padgett and Hibbert are throwbacks. Athletic but not exactly dynamic, they have become dominant players in arguably the nation's most physical conference by doing the little things well.

"I think we're the last of a dying breed,'' said Hibbert, who is averaging 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Hoyas.

"We're probably two of the only true post players there are in college basketball still,'' Padgett added.

Sure, Hibbert has added a soft 16-foot jumper to his repertoire, while Padgett has evolved into one of the best passing centers in the country, setting up at the high post while finding teammates darting to the basket. Yet their true talent lies in the block, where a good head fake and seal can neutralize even the most ill-intentioned of defenders.

Their pet moves are straight out of ESPN Classic. The 7-foot-2 Hibbert's baby skyhook is nearly impossible to block, while the 6-11 Padgett has become a master at getting opponents off their feet with a shot fake leaving them watching helplessly while he slides by for a layup.

Call it old school. Call it fundamentally sound. Just don't call it boring.

Though they rarely make the highlight reel - Hibbert's stunning 3-pointer to beat Connecticut at the horn last month notwithstanding - there is a simple beauty in the way they play that has won them the admiration of rival coaches.

"They both do a great job of rebounding, using their size,'' said St. John's coach Norm Roberts, who got an eyeful of both players in losses to the Cardinals and Hoyas last month. "I think David probably runs the floor a little bit better, but Roy has an assortment of moves and has really varied his game.''

Marquette coach Tom Crean hailed Padgett as the best "offensive facilitator'' in the country after the Cardinals systematically dominated the Golden Eagles on Monday.

Though the numbers are hardly eye-popping - he's averaging 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds - coach Rick Pitino has called Padgett's impact on Louisville's "basketball IQ'' immeasurable.

It's no coincidence the Cardinals struggled while Padgett sat out six weeks with a fractured kneecap. Sorely missing was his presence as the quarterback on their suffocating zone defense and his ability to create easy shots for teammates on offense by making sure everyone is in the right place.

"Without Padgett and (forward Juan) Palacios, I wouldn't say we played bad basketball, but we didn't play smart basketball,'' Pitino said.

Hibbert's responsibilities are slightly different.

A better shot blocker than Padgett, Hibbert likes to challenge opponents, attacking their strengths. His tenacity is one of the reasons the Hoyas lead the nation in field goal percentage defense. Opponents shoot just over 35 percent from the field against Georgetown, undone by the Hoyas' length and relentless discipline.

"You have the scouting report and obviously know what those big guys like to do,'' said Hibbert, who averages 2.1 blocks per game. "I like to try to take that away, try to outsmart them.''

Hibbert's evolution from awkward freshman into dominant force has helped the Hoyas re-estabilish themselves among the nation's elite. It hasn't always been easy, but Hibbert never backed down from the challenge of playing in the shadow of former Georgetown greats Ewing, Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.

Though Hibbert lacks Ewing's offensive firepower or Mourning and Mutombo's defensive nastiness, he's undoubtedly the best passer of the four. Hibbert's 40 assists are third-highest on the team, as he deftly finds an open shooter or a cutting teammate when the double-team comes.

"He's really expanded his game,'' Padgett said of Hibbert. "He's got a good feel for where the ball needs to go.''

Padgett thought he was a good passer until he came to Louisville, only to realize he sometimes panicked when double-teamed.

In an effort to get better Padgett would go entire practices without shooting, focusing on keeping his head up and eyes moving. While he averages just one assist a game, he rarely takes bad shots and is just as adept setting up in the high post with the ball over his head searching for a teammate as he is backing someone down.

When it gets to crunch time on Saturday, though, Padgett and Hibbert will likely be back in a familiar spot, down in the block, banging for supremacy in the kind of battle that used to be commonplace.

It's a challenge both welcome, one that would look just as natural in black-and-white as in pixel-perfect high definition.

"He's the anchor of their team defensively; when they need a bucket they go to him,'' Hibbert said. "I believe it's the same thing for me.''

kaynak : NBA

Heat: Mourning retirement untrue

2008-02-08T18:31:00.000+02:00

Alonzo Mourning's retirement is off just hours after the Miami Heat center made it official.

A spokesman for the Heat said a story erroneously was placed on the team's web site Monday confirming that Mourning will call it quits.

The 37-year-old Mourning, who entered his 15th NBA season saying it would be his last, saw it cut short when he tore the patella tendon and quadriceps tendon in his right knee on December 19.

After undergoing an operation, Mourning ruled out the possibility of a 16th season in an interview posted on the Heat's official web site earlier Monday.

"I'm retired," he said. "This is it for me."

Later in the day, a team official said the story was incorrect and that it was removed from the web site.

Mourning suffered the tear as he raced down the court and planted beneath the rim to block a shot in the first quarter of the Heat's 117-111 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Since being drafted second overall by Charlotte out of Georgetown in 1992, Mourning played in 837 games for the Hornets, Miami and New Jersey. He began his second spell with the Heat in 2004.

Mourning owns career averages of 17.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The seven-time All-Star won one championship with Miami in 2006.

A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning defeated the odds just by stepping on the court in recent years. He was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease in 2003 and returned for the 2004-05 season after a transplant.

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning Captains First-Ever McDonald's All American(R) Advisory Council With Assists From Danny Ferry and Greg Oden

2008-02-08T18:28:00.000+02:00

Alonzo Mourning, the Miami Heat center who was named McDonald's All American(R: 58.55, -0.28, -0.47%) High School Basketball Games Alumni Ambassador in 2007, today announced his next steps in the McDonald's All American Games Alumni legacy with the development of a "Three Point Mission" for the McDonald's All American Advisory Council.

"It's important for alumni of the McDonald's All American Games to take an active role in the program that helped so many of us jump-start our basketball careers," Mourning said. "It is up to the veterans to lead the way for the basketball stars of tomorrow who will be filling our shoes and giving back to communities across the country."

kaynak : NBA

Heat: Wade's team

2008-02-08T18:26:00.000+02:00

A friend asked me today what I think the Heat should do next.

My answer?

The same as it has been for months:

Whatever Dwyane Wade wants.

Really, that's what it is about: making sure that the style and the roster are to his liking, so he remains beyond his contract's expiration in 2010.

That's what this trade was about, too.

For the past year-plus, it's been apparent that Shaquille O'Neal, on whose broad shoulders Dwyane Wade stood for two seasons, was now figuratively and literally standing in Wade's way. Standing in the way of Wade becoming a leader. Standing in the way of Wade setting the locker room tempo, to something more like what Alonzo Mourning what espouse. Standing in the way of the Heat playing a style that suited Wade best.

If you were around the team at all -- and I wasn't around as much as in the past three seasons -- the tension was obvious. O'Neal's presence made it easier for Wade to become what Wade became. Now, however, O'Neal's presence was making it more difficult for Wade to become something even greater.

"We simply looked at the big picture, where we are today, and we need to build around Dwyane," Pat Riley said before Wednesday's game in Detroit. "And everything we do now, moving forward is about building around Dwyane."

Again, you could see this coming.

My guess is that Riley saw it coming before the season, but figured that he could get one more strong season out of O'Neal. And even if he couldn't, he wasn't sure if he could get much for him.

He got plenty, as it turned out.

He got a multi-dimensional player who has made four All-Star teams, and whose contract doesn't do as much damage as O'Neal's contract, even if Shawn Marion chooses to opt in next season.

And Wade got what he appeared to want:

A team.

The Heat is all his.

Now it's up to Wade to take that next step, out of O'Neal's shadow.

Wade must demand more from teammates.

Wade must demand more of himself.

That means cutting back on some of the off-the-court commitments.

That means committing to defense.

And it's up to Riley to construct a team that convinces Wade to commit to the Heat for the long-term.

What would you like to see/hear from Wade?

Below, you'll see two columns that I wrote before this season.

You'll see that I'm making the same points now -- and Riley seems to be making them as well -- that I made then.

You'll also see that I underestimated Riley again, when I said it would be all-but-impossible to trade O'Neal.

If every homeowner had a realtor like Riley, housing prices would be soaring, not slumping.

xxxxx

July 17, 2007 Tuesday
Broward Metro Edition
WADE'S NEW CHALLENGE? MAKING HIMSELF HEARD

BYLINE: ETHAN J. SKOLNICK COMMENTARY

DATELINE: LAUDERHILL

The mayor had no chance in this competition. Dwyane Wade, even at less than full strength, remains a formidable one-on-one opponent.

"I got more votes to come here today than he did to get in office," Wade joked Monday, appearing on a platform before adoring and amused adults and children at City Hall Park.

The count wasn't close. Richard Kaplan won his 2006 election with 1,950 votes. City Hall Park received 110,000 votes in the Staples Dream Park Challenge, earning the park $25,000 in renovations and its supporters an hour with Wade.

Wade remains the people's undisputed athletic champion in South Florida. He is no longer a defending NBA champion, wearing the scars of surgery and a Bulls sweep instead of a crown. To reign again, he must make the Heat his team, just as he made Lauderhill another one of his towns.

It's his time now.

"I'm going to be here for a while," Wade said. "I don't know about Zo, I don't know about Shaq, but I'm going to be here for a while."

Heat fans can only hope. His contract expires in three years. If all goes well, an extension will follow. All will go well if Pat Riley can find the right complements to his game and personality, and leave him feeling comfortable with the franchise direction.

Wade can play a part, too.

He assisted Riley in the difficult, doomed attempt to recruit point guard Maurice Williams, but he hasn't failed at much else in four seasons. His record of consistently exceeding expectations has earned him the right and responsibility to set them for others, too.

Monday's recognition of that reality showed he had done more than heal this offseason. He has grown. He reiterated his desire to "be the best at everything," while quipping that "maybe my three-point shot might come into play. Who knows? It's going to come out one of these years."

What must come out most next year?

His voice.

It should be stronger.

While that is difficult when sharing the spotlight with someone as outsized as Shaquille O'Neal, Wade sounded ready for that step. He doesn't plan on being "a coach in the locker room," because "we have Coach Riley.

"But a coach on the floor, because I know the game a little better, I know my teammates a little better, I know how to handle guys a little bit better now," Wade said. "Coming in as a young guy, no matter if you're the quote-unquote superstar of the team, it's still tough as a young guy to tell someone who has been in the league 12, 14, 15 years to do something out of character."

Reportedly, a rather large 15-year veteran is training unusually hard this summer. Yet if O'Neal or any other teammate starts slacking again, Wade has earned the stripes to stand up.

"Not yelling and screaming, and cussing people out in the papers," Wade said, smiling. "Maybe once or twice."

Steering them back into shape.

Upon announcing his return Sunday night, Alonzo Mourning spoke of intensity, of never settling, of the dangers of feeling you can "flip that switch." Mourning, the embodiment of the Riley way, has as much credibility regarding work ethic as any athlete alive. Mourning vowed to start "cracking that whip" so much that teammates were "probably going to get kind of sick of hearing my voice."

Mourning's voice is worthy, but his minutes are few. Wade and O'Neal are better positioned to get points across, so Mourning said he planned to have the attitude "conversation" with both stars.

Considering O'Neal's hearty historical endorsements of switch-flipping, Wade is Mourning's more natural apprentice. Wade must adopt Mourning's attitude and commitment to defense, and take Mourning's burden, by demanding the same of others.

"Losing changes everything," Wade said. "When you come off winning a championship, a lot of guys are like, 'We know what to do because we've done it.' And you don't follow the same format all the time. Losing changes that. It gets you refocused, it gets you right back to being a student again, and listening to your teacher. We've just got to do a better job of coming in and listening to Coach Riley and our leaders, Shaq, Alonzo, myself, and take it from there."

Wade has listened well. He must make others listen to him.

xxxxx

May 3, 2007 Thursday
Broward Metro Edition
PHILOSOPHY MUST MIRROR COACH, STAR;
IT'S RILEY'S JOB TO BUDGE O'NEAL

BYLINE: ETHAN J. SKOLNICK, COMMENTARY

DATELINE: MIAMI

See you on the sidelines, Pat Riley.

Riley did not commit to returning as the Heat coach Wednesday. He committed only to a return to the hard, old Heat way, the way of responsibility and accountability.

Which way?

"Mine," Riley said.

So, if that's the culture he wants, that's whose responsibility it is to compel the change:

His.

Just as Riley realized the mistake of attempting to meet his listless players halfway, he should recognize it would be equally foolish to take the halfway approach to the re-indoctrination process.

He must coach the team next season.

He must serve as the bridge to the next Heat era, smoothing the transition of primary influence from a slipping superstar to an ascendant one, helping to make this Dwyane Wade's team on and off the court. He must adjust the overall attitude sufficiently that someone like Erik Spoelstra (a Wade favorite) would have a fair shot upon someday taking control. He must create the conditions that convince Wade to stay a Heat player for life.

He must coach, even though he has sometimes enjoyed better success as a personnel evaluator when not simultaneously serving on the sidelines, and even if the thought of the grind makes him queasy.

The formidable presence of Shaquille O'Neal leaves him little choice.

Riley must coach.

His only other choice is to trade O'Neal, and that's not happening. While no longer an irresistible force, O'Neal represents an immovable object, due to age, salary and a short list of acceptable landing spots. New York? Maybe, to fill the Garden again. Dallas? Only if Mark Cuban got irrationally desperate after a first-round exit.

So O'Neal stays. The Heat has experienced the perks of Diesel power. O'Neal energized the fan base while occupying sufficient attention to free Wade to emerge. Yet as O'Neal starts to run (or jog) on fumes, he stands as an impediment as much as an asset.

He is an impediment stylistically, as he ages and the Heat tries to compete with more athletic, free-flowing opponents. He is an impediment transitionally, his presence preventing Wade from taking total control of this environment. He is an attitudinal impediment most of all.

It's no secret who sets the corrosive flip-the-switch tone.

"He admitted to me, `Coach, you came halfway, I agree, and we didn't come and meet you,"' Riley said. "And he said `we."'

If Riley plans to fulfill his promise to monitor attitude more closely this season, the prime surveillance spot is neither a house in Malibu nor an office in Miami. It's the practice floor, locker room and sideline.

Riley still has the best chance of any coach to reach O'Neal. He understands O'Neal's obsession with legacy, speaking Wednesday about how O'Neal "wants to go out favorably," and relating that O'Neal was "very depressed" about the sweep.

"But he also knows that his influence on his teammates and the fact that he wants to end his career illuminated, then he's going to have to lead by real example," Riley said.

That, to Riley, isn't about big numbers. It is about supporting the coach, doing the work, setting the tone, with body language as well as words, from the bus to the court.

"Shaq's good at this," Riley said. "He lifts players up. But the leadership is going to have to be strong."

Leadership also entails knowing when to let another lead.

Making O'Neal understand that will require Riley's strong leadership. Riley must do the delicate work of steering this team toward Wade, who is more pliable and, when healthy, more physically capable to respond to the challenge.

Riley said Wednesday that Wade was "hurting" emotionally and didn't like the way the season ended. Expect Wade to return inspired.

Few observers liked the way this Heat team handled itself from start to finish. Remember, after Stan Van Gundy's 2004-05 squad fell a game short of the Finals, Riley also spoke of the need to instill more of the old Heat culture. And that Van Gundy team embodied the correct culture far more than this last Riley one did. After allowing the culture to corrode on his watch, Riley is responsible for doing the hard, hands-on repair work.

That would be a show of accountability for every player to follow.

kaynak : NBA

Mourning Not Ready To Quit

2008-01-25T19:54:00.000+02:00

Heat center Alonzo Mourning said not to count him out yet. Speaking in specifics about the season-ending injuries to his right knee and leg sustained last month, he said Monday that Heat team physician Harlan Selesnick was originally concerned about his prospects of walking again. Mourning tore the patella tendon and quadriceps muscle in his right leg Dec. 19 — the fourth anniversary of his life-saving kidney transplant.

Mourning, 37, entered this season saying that this would be his last. But now he's not so sure.

"Right now, my focus is just to get healthy," Mourning said. "I haven't really thought about if I'm going to retire or not. But my focus is getting healthy, being able to run and walk, and once I overcome that hurdle I'll be prepared to let you know if I'm going to play again."

Gay picked for dunk contest: Grizzlies guard Rudy Gay was among four chosen to compete in the dunk contest at All-Star weekend. Defending champion Gerald Green of Minnesota, Toronto's Jamario Moon and Orlando's Dwight Howard round out the field for the event Feb. 16.

McGrady playing in pain: Rockets guard Tracy McGrady says he'll play the rest of the season with pain in his left knee.

"I can't rest to let it heal all the way up," he said. "It's something I'm going to have to tolerate." ... Lakers forward Trevor Ariza will be out about eight weeks because of a broken right foot. The Lakers signed center DJ Mbenga to a 10-day contract. He was cut by Golden State on Jan. 6.

kaynak : NBA

WORLD WIDE WADE

2008-01-25T19:53:00.000+02:00

Dwyane Wade drives a white Mercedes, video in the front, bass in the back. The car is lot-fresh, no stray cups, not a glint of dust on the dash. "I'm organized," he explains as he drives away from the Heat's players garage, seat belt snug. "My house. My clothes. Everything looks nice. Suits with suits. Ties with ties. Matched out. I don't feel like I can think in a sloppy environment."

Wade is big on thinking. Thinking and pursuing and bettering and, more to the point, capitalizing. "My business," he explains as he revs the engine and merges onto the causeway, "is to do as much as I can. Acting. Producing. Modeling. Clothing line. All that. Restaurants. I want to do it all. I want to go global." Already fast becoming a household name because of his winning Converse, T-Mobile and Gatorade ads-and because of the none-too-small detail of his being one of the best basketball players gracing the game-Wade has decided he wants to be a brand. It's a goal shared by his new agency, William Morris, a firm with the juice to fulfill one's thirst for commercial domination. "It's not that I want it all now," Wade clarifies. "It's that the opportunity is now."

And only a fool thumbs his nose at opportunity.

RATATOUILLE!

"I've always been really ambitious. As a kid, I always thought I could do more than people thought I could. I'm not the kind of person who likes to be in a box." So Wade has looked into acting classes and clothing design. He enlarges his vocabulary, one word a week. "Immaculate was one," he says. "Cohorts. Lethargic. As in, 'I've been busy trying to get this lethargic team back on track.' " He laughs. "My teammates knock me for it. I get a lot of jokes. But," he pauses and smiles, "they enjoy my commercials."

Wade was once overlooked-not ignored, but something worse: underestimated. Then came Miami and Pat Riley and the All-Star team and a championship, and then the whole world got to see who he knew he'd been all along. Baby MJ. Flash. King of the impossible. "My will is my greatest strength," Wade explains. "My will to get there. That's why I'm here now. I willed myself."

His coach agrees. "In the past five years I've been surprised," Riley says. "We knew he'd be good, but nobody knew he'd be this good. The year we won, he was the best player in the world. Unfortunately, he has to come all the way back now." The shoulder and knee injuries and the surgeries that followed last season are obstacles, but not a worry. "He's a warrior," Riley says. The only concern lies in the hunger, the focus. "He's going through a lot of changes in his life, from where he came from to this incredible success. I tell him he needs to learn to leave a little on the table. He can't gobble up all of life right now-all the endorsements, all the businesses. You have to be true to who you are, as a person and as a player. I tell him, your greatest refuge is the court, it's what got you here. Sometimes young players get away from themselves with all the stuff that comes at them." Wade respectfully disagrees: "From Coach's perspective, yeah, it looks like I have a lot going on. From my perspective, I want more. It's my life. I know what I can take on."

WE WANT him to be sweet. To be the down-home guy we read about. The church tither. The teetotaler. The abstainer. The one-woman man who marries his high school sweetheart, the only girlfriend he ever had. The man who continues to love her without hesitation, even as impossibly hot Lolitas throw themselves at him, their phone numbers inked on their Apple Bottom jeans.

RILEY SAYS MIAMI'S MEAL TICKET MIGHT HAVE TOO MANY OUTSIDE INTERESTS ON HIS PLATE.

-

We like that mythology: the pure athlete, the sainted chosen one. Who cares how unfeasible it is to be 25 and rich and famous and also good-infallible, even. To never stray, or get publicly drunk, or speed in traffic, or make any of the morally questionable decisions everyone else makes, even people who are not young or rich or famous. D-Wade is sweet. But he is not Sandra Dee. He is not a unicorn.

He also is not stupid. He knows enough to say basketball comes first, because for now it does. He understands too how much of his brand success is about an image: husband, father of two, tattoo- and felony-free. But no one is perfect. "Uh, 2007 ain't been the best year," Wade concedes, referring not only to his injuries and the Heat's play-uneven on the good days-but also to those rumors of marital discord. His own sublime skills have shown signs of rust as he continues to play his way back into shape. He recently missed a potentially game-tying three as time expired against the Pacers-"I knew as soon as it left my hands that it wouldn't go in"-and followed that with a 6-for-22 a couple of nights later. "I don't know why bad games happen. It's mysterious. From one minute to the next you can go from great to bad, and you have no idea why. When that happens, I say to myself, Slow down." Or he'll just play through it. "I'm going to shoot until I get out of it."

No one blames Wade for the Heat's record, not even Wade himself. Basketball remains, as ever, a team sport. But when the man Riley calls "our inspiration" is sidelined for most of a season and is unpredictable for the rest, he can get a little down. He hates how the team has been playing, hates that he can't resurrect the magic of seasons past. But he won't give up. The next game, he tells himself, will be different: "My confidence comes from my upbringing. Nobody believed in me. They said I'd never make it." He stopped paying attention to what people say a long time ago. "When you're young, you want to be famous. You want to be known. But having your personal business out there is not fun. I hear things, I read things and just laugh. Speculation is speculation. The thing that sucks about gossip is people believe it."

They believe your marriage is all but over. They believe you canoodle with actresses and models. They believe you are getting your freak on all over South Beach. Wade admits that he and his wife, Siohvaughn, are in a rough patch, that his marriage, like everyone else's, has its ups and downs. But no papers have been filed, and the couple is diligently trying to work things out. If they don't, they don't. Either way, he has nothing to hide.

Wade mulls his morphing reputation from pious to player, both wrongheaded formulations, by his accounting. He says: "A lot of people early on, I'd hear them say, 'Dwyane don't go out, he don't have a good time.' Now, I don't drink, I don't smoke, but I've always been a guy who likes to have fun."

Shouldn't he be at home reading his Bible? He grins. "Temptation is a part of life. I'm strong, but I'm not immune to the world." A minute passes. Another smile. "This high-profile life hasn't changed me," he says, a sentiment echoed by his teammates, family members and friends. "I don't worry about losing my way. I know that whatever happens, I can get myself back on track."

AT A meet-and-greet at Miami's Holtz Children's Hospital two weeks before Christmas, Wade, Alonzo Mourning and most of their teammates are handed red-and-green elf caps. "Tell Alonzo he's gonna need a bigger hat," Wade cracks as he puts his on, cocked to the side, beret-style. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas," he starts crooning to no one in particular when a nurse wearing stuffed reindeer antlers spots him and squeals. As he approaches, she fans herself with her hands. "Oh, lordy! Oh, lordy! D-Wade! D-Wade!" He smiles and gives his cap to her, takes the antlers off her head and puts them on his. The nurse, crimson now, steadies herself on a desk as Wade struts away, checking his antlered reflection in the glass of the X-ray room. "It brings out my eyes," he says, winking.

The players amble through the halls, visiting pediatric cancer patients and their families. In many rooms, Wade is the only player who's recognized, but even he is anonymous when he stops to visit Precious, a 9-year-old patient. Precious is playing a video game, and Wade sits on her bed and asks to play too: "What is this game? Scooby-Doo?" Precious giggles and buries her face in her hospital gown. "Do I gotta save somebody up in here?" he asks. Precious shrugs, batting her eyes at him.

The next room belongs to Drew, an older boy unable to speak clearly. Drew's parents have made T-shirts with their son's name on the back for the visiting players. The father has a speech ready, about fighting the good fight, and as he makes it, his voice wavers. The players struggle to find a place to look, all except Wade. He stares at Drew's father, right into his twitchy, damp face, then at Drew himself, slumped and trembling in a wheelchair. Wade listens and nods, then takes the T-shirt and pulls it over his own. Drew's father watches. "Please, please play for my son," he begs, tears dropping. "Remember Drew." Wade nods slowly. "We will," he says. "You are a hero," Drew's father whispers as the two men hug.

After the visit, Wade tells a television reporter that the hospital visit "is always a tremendous joy" and that "anytime you can make a difference to kids, you want to do more." The nurses and doctors who watch beam. "He is so special," whispers one. "Not like the others." On the way to his car, Wade swipes a latex glove from a countertop and inflates it into a makeshift balloon. He lobs the glove at Mourning's head, giggling as he does.

Driving home, Wade considers his own childhood, on the South Side of Chicago, when everything he knew pointed to failure. "We didn't see anybody who was a success at anything," he recalls. "I'm at peace with my past now. Sometimes when I think about it, it doesn't even seem real, like it wasn't even my life." Wade and his siblings grew up with a largely absent father, a heroin- and coke-addicted mother, Jolinda, acute poverty and unebbing fear. "He was scared around people," says older sister Tragil, with whom Wade shared a room, a bed, even shoes.

WADE IS PRETTY MUCH CLUELESS WHEN IT COMES TO EXPLAINING HIS INCONSISTENT PLAY. WHAT HE WON'T DO IS BLAME ALL THOSE GOSSIP PAGE WHISPERS.

-

"The gangs, the drug dealers outside-they could have influenced Dwyane," she continues. "But Mom tried to keep it away. She'd shut her door. And Dwyane always made my mom feel so good. He wasn't ever ashamed of her. He was always like, 'That's my mom,' putting his arms around her. If she could have covered him with a tent and protected him from life, she would have."

Of course, she couldn't. That duty fell to Tragil, who, after mothering Wade as long as she could, took him to his father's home by bus when he was 8, leaving him to a different sort of life, one that included work and discipline and expectations. "When I left him," Tragil recalls, "he looked at me and said, 'Why are you crying?' He didn't know." Nor did he know what his father, Dwyane Sr., had in store for him. "My father made me play basketball," Wade says flatly, recalling his days and nights in Robbins, Ill., where his family eventually settled. "He made me shoot on the court, rain, sleet or snow. Dribbling all the time. Made me watch it on TV. I resented it. I remember I used to love playing the game more when he wasn't around." In time, though, Wade came around. From adversity sprang love, for the game and his father. "He wanted to live his dream through me," Wade explains without rancor. "Simple as that."

His mother, now a pastor after getting clean in 2001, made her own lasting contribution. "She's been saying that my picture is bigger than basketball since I was 5," Wade explains. "She said I have a higher calling than sports. And I believe her."

MIAMI IS a woeful 6-15 the day before its first home game in more than a week. Practice over, Wade emerges wearing a T-shirt, nylon pants and a diamond earring big enough to block the sun. Tragil wants him to sign some paperwork. Mom is calling about a new building for her church. The Heat need a win like Amy Winehouse needs a comb. But Wade Inc. rolls on, a thousand unmet desires plucking at him. Wade stays cool, ignoring the hype, plotting his course. "We won a championship, and I wasn't satisfied," he says. "That day we won was great. But a couple days later, I was back to reality." Wade knows from reality. He's seen the bottom, up close, so he knows what is really at stake, how lucky he is. And like everyone who claws his way out, he wants to put as much distance as he can between the starting and the finish lines.

"My future?" he says. "It looks different than this. I'm gonna try acting. I'm going after Denzel. He's a 10, I'm a .5-but that's where I'm headed." King Kong ain't got nothin' on D-Wade. "No one can expect more out of me than I expect out of myself," he says. When asked if he'll ever be content, he is quiet. "You know what I want?" he says, finally. "I want people to look at me and see a good person. I don't want to be known as a great athlete. I want to be known as a great human being."

Mourning, friend and mentor, says he already sees the makings of that greatness. "He wows you, he really does," says the 37-year-old, whose season has since ended with a knee injury. "He's 25, but he carries himself like he's in his 30s. He's handled his fame maturely." Still, Mourning worries. "He takes stardom to a totally different level. Every time you turn on the TV, there he is. Billboards everywhere. I have deep concerns about him, because of society. They've put him on a pedestal, but the slightest mistake he makes, they'll be quick to make him headline news."

Wade remains unfazed. "The foundation of who I am hasn't changed," he says. "I've changed in that I've become more of a man, and I'm more outspoken now." Earlier this season he gave a public smackdown to Shaq, a dis the big man later said was deserved. "A few years ago I'd never have said anything," Wade says. "When I was younger, I was so shy that I'd be scared to ask for seconds at Sunday dinner."

Wade talks about how, as a young man, he'd fall asleep thinking about his goals, willing himself to dream about the NBA, hitting game-winners, playing on championship teams. And about how, before he knew it, all those dreams came true. "Sometimes I'm just driving my car and I think, I'm driving a Mercedes-Benz. Where I came from to a Mercedes-Benz-it's like a fairy tale." He exhales. "Looking back, I wish I would have dreamed a little more."

Don't misunderstand. Sure, he wants it all, because he had nothing, because there are holes to fill and hurts to smooth. But at the heart of this story lives basketball. Wade loves the sport like a woman: deep in the muscle, rattling and true. He penned a love letter to the game in the off-season: "You've had my heart since I first laid eyes on you."

"Basketball is more than a sport to me," he says. "It's my way out. My best friend. I get a feeling when I'm on the court, like I'm another person. I don't feel like Dwyane Wade. I feel like I matter." He falls silent again, then changes the subject. "You know who I love right now?" he asks. "McLovin, from Superbad. That guy is hilarious.

"I see all kinds of movies," he continues. "But I don't like sad ones. If I have a choice, I'm going to go for the happy ending."

kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning May Not Retire After All

2008-01-25T19:50:00.000+02:00

When ZO went down with a torn patella tendon and quadriceps in his right leg last month, most of us assumed that . After all, he was pretty clear before the injury that this would be his final season, and considering how badly he messed up his knee, there's really no chance of him returning this year.

But while talking to reporters on Monday, Mourning made it clear that he's un-made up his mind about 2008-09 and is leaving the door open for a:

"Right now, my focus is just to get healthy," Mourning said. "I haven't really thought about if I'm going to retire or not. But my focus is getting healthy, being able to run and walk, and once I overcome that hurdle I'll be prepared to let you know if I'm going to play again."

Especially considering all that he's overcome in his career, Mourning has actually aged quite gracefully and remains a tenacious defender and capable rebounder -- before going down, he was certainly one of the top backup centers in the league.

But what's his incentive to return? Is it just to prove that he can? He's already won a title, he's already made more money than he'll ever spend and he's cemented his status as one of the toughest players to ever play the game. The Heat, meanwhile, are simply terrible, and while they'll be better next year (imagine Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley joining the starting lineup), it's too early to think they'll be a legitimate playoff team. Mourning has been loyal to Pat Riley, but this year before moving to the front-office full-time. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing we've seen the last of Mourning.
kaynak : NBA

Alonzo Mourning and Earvin 'Magic' Johnson

2008-01-25T19:48:00.000+02:00

Alonzo Mourning and Earvin 'Magic' Johnson Host 4th Annual 'Boost Mobile Zo & Magic's 8-Ball Challenge', Presented By G2 From The Makers Of Gatorade With Returning Host Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges

Star-Studded Competitive Pool Tournament Benefits Youth and the New Orleans Community Through Alonzo Mourning Charities & The Magic Johnson Foundation

On Thursday, February 14, 2008, the hottest showdown of stars on and off the court will take place at The Sugar Mill during the NBA All-Star Weekend. NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat and NBA Legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson team up along with Title Sponsor Boost Mobile, Presenting Sponsor G2 from the makers of Gatorade, and Official Vehicle Sponsor Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., to usher in the 2008 "Boost Mobile Zo & Magic's 8-Ball Challenge," along with Grammy winner Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who returns for hosting duties for the second straight year.

The annual 8-Ball Challenge, now in its 4th year and one of All-Star Weekend's most popular events, is a competitive celebrity pool tournament that's grown bigger and better every year, raising over $750,000 to support youth and community causes. Says Mourning, "This is the fourth year of the 8-Ball Challenge and the third time I am partnering with Earvin on the event, which has found success beyond my expectations in such a short time. Magic and I are excited to be with the great people of New Orleans for this year's tournament, a community that has continued to show great perseverance and pride in restoring its city's rich heritage. We feel blessed to come into this community and appreciate the substantial support that the 8-Ball Challenge has amassed from the local cities, celebrities and corporations over the years."

The 8-Ball Challenge, and its partners, are proud to have adopted New Orleans own West Jefferson High School, a school in many ways still crippled by its needs and the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Proceeds from the event will assist the school in opening a new computer lab for its students.

With additional generosity from Diamond Billiards providing pool tables in partnership with Simonis Cloth and GenerationPool.com, and support from stars including Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat), Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors), actress Vivica Fox, Greg Oden (Portland Trailblazers), Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Caron Butler (Washington Wizards), Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Reggie Bush (New Orleans Saints), and Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics), it's anyone's guess who will go down first, in this round- robin style battle of thirty-two (32) double's teams.

The 8-Ball Challenge has fast become the most anticipated event and classiest new tradition of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Alonzo Mourning hosted the first 8-Ball Challenge in 2005 to runaway success with Denver Nuggets phenom Carmelo Anthony.

In the subsequent 8-Ball Challenges in 2006 and 2007, he partnered with fellow long-time philanthropist and entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson, which have shown a spirit for giving that is sure to be outmatched in New Orleans, as the 8-Ball Challenges have crowned new winners and raised bigger funds each year to help underprivileged youth and families through their Alonzo Mourning Charities and the Magic Johnson Foundation. Each year different winners have taken home the grand prize - from NBA star Paul Pierce in 2005 and Atlanta radio personalities Doug and Ryan Stewart of the "2 Live Stews" winning the tournament in 2006, to Mourning with his partner, artist Alonzo Adams, taking the win in 2007. Mourning is looking to repeat his win and reap even greater success than last year.

"Every year, we make it the hottest event at All-Star. There's always exciting and unpredictable things happening," says Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "It'll be even more special this year, in New Orleans. It's important to be in this city and support the rebuilding of this community."

The 8-Ball Challenges have attracted a who's who of sports and entertainment, such as Big Boi, Bow Wow, Cedric The Entertainer, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Gabrielle Union, Nick Cannon, Queen Latifah, Regina King, Vivica Fox, sports stars and legends like Carmelo Anthony, Charles Barkley, Dwyane Wade, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., Jeanette "The Black Widow" Lee, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Paul Pierce, Reggie Bush, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal, and Terrell Owens.

There will also be a host of other exciting activities and displays during the night including the showcase of the all-new 2008 Toyota Sequoia Platinum edition. All of the net proceeds raised will benefit programs supported by Alonzo Mourning Charities, Inc. and the Magic Johnson Foundation. Alonzo Mourning Charities and the Magic Johnson Foundation will also do a variety of projects in the community during the week and NBA All-Star Weekend. Among them includes a visit by Alonzo Mourning Charities on February 15th to West Jefferson High School (Harvey, LA) to participate in an ongoing project and donate computers and other support, and HIV testing conducted by the Magic Johnson Foundation on February 15th in New Orleans.

kaynak : NBA